Kion's Cause
by Sophronius
Summary: Using the divine right of kings as an excuse, a spoiled prince gathers a group of thugs to keep the terrified populace in line. What do you mean, they're the good guys? They eat the people they save! Well, I guess they're still better than the other side... (This is the sequel to Scar's Samsara, a rational retelling of the Lion King in a time of magic and strife. Complete!)
1. The Divine Right of Kings

This is the sequel to Scar's Samsara, a rational retelling of The Lion King in a time of magic and strife. If you haven't read it yet, go to my profile and check it out!

The idea of rational fiction is to rewrite a story from a rational character's point of view, and see what changes from there. So in this story, Kion (Simba's son) and the other major characters are much smarter and have far more agency in driving the story. The plot is roughly based on The Lion Guard, but you don't need to watch the show to understand what's happening, so jump right in and enjoy the story!

(The cover image is called "Race with the Elders", by Wickfield)

* * *

 _"He's not brave, he's fearless. There's a difference."_

* * *

The blast crashed into the hyenas before Kion even knew what was happening: It was like his rage itself was lashing out at his enemies, _burning_ them _._ There was a golden light pouring forth from somewhere, perhaps some hole in the cave's ceiling – but no. It was coming from him. He was radiating starlight.

He rose, ignoring the pain that flared in the side of his neck as he advanced towards Janja. There were several more hyenas opposing him, but he blasted them aside with bursts of wind and stone. All around the crippled hyena the corpses of his comrades lay scattered across the cave.

"Kion?" Janja struggled to get away, but it was no good – his paws had been scorched, and he dragged them uselessly across the ground, mewling pathetically. "Hey. Hey, stop, no more."

 _Worthless trash / kill him_

"Hey, Kion. Come on." He grinned weakly. "It's me. You remember me, right Kion? Remember all the fun times we had together?" The grin slowly slipped from his face as Kion approached, only to be replaced with raw primordial terror. "Hey. Hey Kion. Come on. Hey."

One of the other hyenas was dragging itself over to Janja, trying to protect him. Wounded, half-burned and close to dying, but willing to shelter him with her body if need be.

 _Hate hyenas / so much_

Kion opened his mouth and roared, one last time.

* * *

 _-One month earlier-_

 _The Pridelands, various locations._

.

"Join the Lion Guard?" Fuli the cheetah idly licked her paws, taking pains not to look at Kion as she spoke. "You want me to hang out with a bunch of scruffy old lions? Now why would I want to do that?"

.

"Please, can I join the Lion Guard?" The grey honey badger prostrated himself before him, bowing low. "Come on, Kion, I'm your best friend, and I'm definitely the Pridelands' bravest! _Please?"_

"I already said yes, Bunga, so stop asking!"

.

"Ow wow, me, join the Lion Guard? _Poa_ …" The excitement in the hippo's eyes slowly gave way for doubt. "But uh, wouldn't my old man do a better job? I mean, he's a lot wiser and stronger than me…"

"I don't think you _literally_ have to be the strongest in the Pridelands," Kion said, shrinking away from the prospect of having some tired old has-been in the team. "It's more of an, uh, metaphorical thing."

"Oh wow," said Beshte, beaming with pride. "I've always wanted to be a metaphor."

.

"Why yes, I _am_ the fastest animal in the Pridelands," said Fuli, no longer licking her paws but gazing idly into the distance. "What else are they saying about me? Just out of curiosity, mind you."

.

"For the last time Bunga, I already said yes! You can join the Guard!"

"It just doesn't sound very believable," said Bunga. "I mean, who in their right mind would let _me_ join?"

.

The lone white heron looked at him with trepidation. "You're saying I'm the keenest of sight? But there are countless birds of prey who have better eyesight than me. Surely someone like Hadithi the Eagle would be a much better fit?"

"It's not so much about the eyesight," Kion said hastily, "and more that having someone to scout around for enemies from up high seems really, really useful."

"So what you're saying is you really want me for my aerial abilities," said Ono, who seemed to mull it over. "Shouldn't we change the title to be more logical, then?"

Kion rolled his eyes. "We could call you the flappiest of flight, if you prefer."

.

"But Kion, are you _sure_ I'm really going to be a member of–"

"Bunga, if you say one more word, I'm kicking you out of the Lion Guard before you even officially join."

"Oh sweet," said the honey badger. "I bet I'd be setting some kind of new record!"

.

"I never said I wouldn't join," Fuli protested. "Just that I didn't like the idea of hanging out with a bunch of scruffy old lions." She gave the group a dubious look. "Which these guys are… clearly not."

* * *

The five guardsmen, Kion included, stood gathered at the entryway to Pride Rock for the very first time. Fuli the Fast, Beshte the Strong, Ono the Keen, and Bunga the Brave all stood at attention. Surely the occasion would go down in history as one of the Pridelands' finest moments.

King Simba cleared his throat. "Son, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Kion followed his father dutifully up the entryway. He had the sinking feeling that things were not about to go as they had in his imagination. Now that he looked down on the guardsmen from up high, even he had to admit that his troupe did not look quite as majestic as he had hoped.

The king waited until they reached the mouth of Pride Rock before speaking. "Son, I asked you to gather the strongest, bravest, fastest and keenest warriors in the Pridelands to serve as the Guard and protect the realm. I trusted you to complete this task without supervision, since as the second child it is your destiny to lead them. Instead, it looks like you simply asked all of your friends to join." The furrow of his brow only added to marks that had been burned into his forehead long before Kion had been born, and which seemed to give him a perpetual frown.

"That's not true," Kion protested, forcing himself to stare back. "Dad, I gathered my friends because I wanted companions I could _trust_. You said it yourself: I'll be spending the rest of my life with the Guard. It's much more important that I know I can rely on them than that they're strong and powerful fighters."

King Simba let out a long sigh. "It's not about that. I'm sure Beshte will grow to be a very strong Hippo. Fuli the cheetah is undoubtedly fast and Bunga… well, never mind about Bunga. The point is that the Lion Guard is supposed to be made up of _lions_. It is our duty to risk our lives to protect the Kingdom, just as it is the duty of the herd animals to serve and feed us in turn. We each have our part in the great Circle of Life."

Kion frowned. That sounded suspiciously like the same kind of prejudice that maintained that only carnivores were capable of advanced intelligence. Admittedly, two of his guard did eat insects, and Fuli was a carnivore while Beshte was the strongest rather than the brightest… but still. It did not seem right.

"Why, though?" He followed his father along the overhanging rock, the tip of which rested upon a small rocky outcrop as if to defy gravity, and which had been used to present him and his sister to the Pridelands when they were born. "You yourself use Zazu to fly ahead and bring you news, don't you? It only makes sense to make use of the skills of other animals instead of just relying on the fierceness of lions." Especially since there _were_ no more male lions left in the kingdom apart from the two of them.

"I used to know someone else who said the same thing." His father stood at the very tip of Pride Rock, his own red mane tousled gently by the wind. "He believed that we weren't really so different, and that the Circle of Life was just a pleasing lie. But he didn't change much either, in the end. The fact is that the Pridelands have come to rely on that lie, and so in a way it has become true – if that makes any sense."

"No," said Kion, still frowning. "It doesn't."

King Simba motioned with his head, beckoning towards the vast savannah that stretched out beneath them, reaching further than even Ono's eyes could see. There were mountains and plains, forests and rivers and vast watering holes, and amongst it all were their subjects: Herds of giraffes, antelopes and zebras, and of course his own guardsmen who were still standing at attention near the entryway.

"All of this was ash once," said Simba. "The trees were black, the rivers dry. My uncle changed almost nothing and it still proved to be too much. He was the smartest animal in the Pridelands, yet all he achieved was to incur the wrath of the Spirit Kings and make everyone his enemy." He turned to regard Kion, the sternness of his expression at odds with the softness of his voice. "The more you change, the more resistance you meet. And if you change too much, even the Roar of the Elders may turn on you."

 _Scar._ Kion swallowed. Everyone in the Pridelands knew that name, though he had only recently learned the secrets of the divine power that he now shared with his great-uncle. Even now he suspected that there was still much that his father was not saying, but it did not seem wise to press the issue.

"I won't become like Scar," he said. "I promise, dad."

King Simba looked at him with an expression of unbearable sadness, which Kion did not understand. "I know you won't, Kion. You're not like him, and neither am I. I only taught you about the spirits so you could learn to control the Roar – prevent it from controlling _you_ , as it once did me."

Kion hesitated, expecting his father to continue, but the king said nothing else. There was only that strange sadness in his expression, which refused to go away. He shuffled uncomfortably on the spot.

"You can keep your Guard," Simba said at last. "Keep the friends you chose, and keep them close. Just be careful, Kion. Try not to do anything that would give your mother and I cause to worry."

"I won't," said Kion, but his father had already turned and was gazing across the savannah once more. After a moment's hesitation, he went back down the mountain to tell his friends the good news.

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for chapter 1! There'll be 23 chapters in total (The story is already mostly finished) so I'll be updating regularly each weekend, and possibly faster than that. If you like the story, or even if you don't, write a review and let me know what you think!


	2. The Return of the Roar

_"That's not a philosophy, that's a celebration of irresponsibility!"  
_

* * *

The savannah sun was beating down mercilessly, and so the five intrepid guardsmen had decided that the best place to find evil was, conveniently, in the shade. As a result, they soon found themselves traveling along the foot of a cliff that, unfortunately, did have the side effect of blocking half their view.

Fuli, who had moved ahead of the rest of the team with her cheetah speed, glanced around at the vast and empty plains once more. "So, remind me again: What is it we _do,_ exactly?"

"Fight evil!" Bunga the badger bounced along the side off the cliff with inexhaustible energy. Presumably he leached it from the people who had to put up with him. "We're here to fight bad guys and protect the Pridelands from harm, as heroes always do. Isn't that right, Kion?"

"Actually…" Ono swooped down from the sky, not even bothering to inform them that no, he had found no sign of trouble either. "The Lion Guard is only supposed to 'fight evil' when the Pridelands are under attack, or if there's a rogue lion or something nearby. In times of peace we're supposed to help out with floods, resolve conflicts between neighbours, find missing cubs and other, you know… stuff."

"That's not so bad," said Beshti, who seemed quite cheerful now that he was out of the blistering sun and could cool his great grey back. "My dad always says that hard work never hurt anybody. Of course, there _was_ that one time when my uncle worked too hard on the hippo lanes and then he dried out from the sun and died of thirst, but I'm pretty sure that only happened once."

Bunga immediately hopped closer to the cliff, seeking refuge in the shade. Apparently hard work was the only thing that frightened the Pridelands' bravest. "Yech. Well, if the forces of evil won't come to us, let's just go to them! The Outlands are chock-full of bad guys whose tails are just waiting to be kicked. We can call it one of them whatchamacallits – punitive actions or the like."

Ono glared at him, flying low just so he could better look down his beak at the honey badger. "Are you a moron? The Outlands don't fall under our jurisdiction. We could start a war if we did something like that."

Bunga waved his clawed paws in a lazy arc. "Eh. It's not like the hyenas aren't invading our territory all the time already. It's only fair if we get to attack them back every once in a while."

"I'm not quite sure my father would approve," said Kion. He squinted against the sun, trying to see if the distant herd of wildebeests was panicking or just resettling themselves. In truth he did not mind the quiet so much, but there was a strange heaviness in his gut – as if there was something he was supposed to be doing that he had been putting off for a very long time. It would go a long way to putting his mind at ease if he could just figure out what it was.

"Hey Kion." He glanced up to find Fuli staring at him. "No offense to your dad, but this is taking a bit too long for me, and I'm getting hungry. If it's all the same to you I'll go and catch me one of those gazelles we talked to earlier. You want me to get you anything while I'm there?"

"No, that's all right," he said. There was that sinking feeling again, stronger than before.

"Guys! I found an evil-doer!" They turned and saw that Bunga was enthusiastically waving a red snake around. He pointed to the bulge in the snake's centre. "Look, it's swallowed an innocent Pridelander! Don't worry; I know just what to do." As they watched, he pushed the bulge upwards with both paws, until finally the increasingly nauseous-looking snake vomited the bundle onto the grassy dirt.

The misshapen form of a mouse hurled onto the ground with a wet splat, still covered in yellow stomach acid. It stuck one trembling paw in Kion's direction. _"K-kill meeeee…."_

"What are you fools _doing?"_ The snake coiled upwards to shoot Bunga a death glare. "I'm a Pridelander, same as you! You should be protecting me, not robbing me of my meal while I'm having a nap!"

"Oops," said Bunga. He idly speared the half-digested mouse with his claws and proffered it back to the snake. "Looks like you lost your lunch sir, but I found it again!" No sooner did the cobra snag back the mouse or Bunga tossed the snake away again, prey and all. "Eh, at least we did the mouse a favour. I think that counts as a win for the Lion Guard."

Fuli was staring at Bunga with an increasingly green expression. "You know Kion, I gotta take back that offer to bring you gazelle. I'm not that hungry anymore."

"Yeah," said Kion. He was not sure he would ever feel hungry again. "Me neither."

"Ah, relax you guys!" Bunga hopped over to Kion and put a paw on his shoulder, though he had to stand on tiptoes to do so. "Zuka Zama! Life's too short to worry about stuff like that."

Beshti leaned in closer, his great grey head taking up most of Kion's vision. "Zuka Zama? What's that mean, little B?"

Bunga jumped up before either of them could stop him. "I'm glad you asked, big B! It's my personal philosophy, just like my fathers' _Hakuna Matata –_ the art of not giving a shit. It means that life is too much fun to let yourself be chafed by silly rules or restrictions or anything like that."

Ono's eye twitched. "That's not a philosophy, that's a celebration of irresponsibility! Didn't your adoptive parents ever teach you about the ant and the grasshopper?"

"Sure they did, Ono." He put on his best story-telling voice. "Once upon a time there was an ant and a grasshopper. The ant worked hard all throughout the summer, while the grasshopper did nothing but play and have fun. A hundred years later they were both dead. The end."

"That does it," said Ono, "I'm going back to scouting before he makes me puke." The white egret flew up into the sky, quickly becoming little more than a dot.

Bunga gave him a cheerful wave. "Okay, Mister Flappiest of Flight!"

 _"That's not my title!"_

Fuli gave Kion a dubious look. "Remind me why you invited him into the Guard, again?"

"Yeah, I was really confused about that too," said Bunga, scratching his head.

"He's my friend," Kion said defensively. "Friends have to stick together. Also, it's _really_ useful to have someone around who's willing to do literally anything you ask of him. Plus he nagged me about it. A lot."

Bunga grinned. "If at first you don't succeed, keep at it until everybody else relents from exhaustion – that's my motto!" He paused. "Well, that and Zuka Zama, I guess."

Beshti was also giving Bunga a doubtful look. "Well… I guess he _is_ the bravest of the Pridelands. I mean, you saw how he handled that cobra. It's like he's not afraid of _anything_."

"He's not brave," said Fuli, "he's fearless. There's a difference. Courage is when you _overcome_ fear."

"No it isn't," said Bunga. "Courage is the opposite of cowardice. Cowardice is when you're afraid of everything, so courage is when you're afraid of nothing. That's called _logic_ , Fuli."

The cheetah rolled her eyes. "Can we just go back to doing… whatever it is we're supposed to be doing?"

"We could go help out my dad," Beshti suggested. "There's _always_ a need for honest folks willing to do hard labour at the hippo lanes."

"That's… a nice thought, Beshti," said Kion. "We'll be sure to think about it. How about you, Fuli? Any suggestions?"

She hesitated. "Well…"

"Guys! Everybody!" They all looked up to where Ono was shouting, hovering above them and flapping frantically in the air. "Hyenas, in the Pridelands! They're attacking the Wildebeests!"

Kion cursed under his breath. It seemed that their movement on the plains had been the onset of panic after all – or perhaps that was just a coincidence. "Fuli, move ahead and try to draw the hyenas away from the Wildebeests," he ordered. "Ono, scout the area and make sure the herd doesn't trample anyone underfoot. Beshti, Bunga – you're with me."

"Alright!" Bunga was already moving, charging along with Kion and Beshti and somehow managing to keep up despite his tiny legs. "Till the Prideland's end… let's kick some hyena tail!"

The three of them ran onwards, Fuli and Ono already disappearing from sight ahead of them while a great cloud dust rose up behind them from Beshti's furious charge. Soon the hyenas could be seen darting in and out between the panicked wildebeests, trying to draw the weaker ones away from the herd. Fuli was rounding them up, snapping at each of the hyenas until they broke off in a panic, and then moving just as quickly on to the next. Soon the hyenas were starting to cluster together for protection, and Kion and the others seized the opportunity to position themselves between them and the herd.

"In the name of King Simba and all who came before him," Kion shouted, " _charge!"_

They rushed at the hyenas as one. The thunderous form of Beshti smashed apart their centre while the remainder gave way in a cacophony of screams and frightened yelps. Fuli pounced one, Bunga leaped on top of another while Ono swooped down and pecked at the eyes of a third, and Kion… Kion barely needed to do anything at all. The hyenas scattered and ran all the way to the edge of the outlands, only their leader holding his ground at the edge of the steep ridge that marked the end of their territory.

The adolescent hyena shot them all a dirty look from atop the massive flat rock that sat at the peak of the ridge. "Well, well, if it isn't prince Kion _,_ the lion cub _._ What an honour, to be chased away by _royalty_."

Bunga stepped forward. "Beat it, Janja! This is our turf. You and your pack don't belong here."

"Oh? And where do we belong then, Bunga the Boneheaded? In the Outlands? In the elephant graveyard, where we can break our teeth on old bones in the hopes of finding some marrow?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "We have to eat too, you know. If you force us to live out here, it's the same as sentencing us to death."

"You and your kind should've thought of that before you decided to break the law," Fuli said coldly. "If you can't eat, then stop mating. At least you wouldn't be creating any more misery for your own kind."

"And you must be Fuli the Fickle, in the flesh. You haven't even done anything and already you're one of the Pridelands' most famous heroes." He snorted derisively. "You're a fool if you think we're just going to lay down and die for you. If you want us dead, you should at least have the courage to do it yourselves."

"Oh, I have the courage all right," said Bunga, advancing slowly. "Or the fearlessness, if you prefer."

"Enough!" Kion stepped forward. "Janja, I don't really know about your situation or what happened with your clan, but you can't just come here and kill innocent Pridelanders. They are our people and they're under our protection, got it?"

Janja sneered at him, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "Your people? Your food, you mean. What do you think those lovely chunks of venison are made of? You're the same as us, _Your Highness._ You just want to keep all the power and food to yourself, but we'll get what's ours… one way or another."

Kion stared back at the hyena, an inexplicable anger welling up inside of him. There was a _tension_ , like a line from his stomach drawing taut. "You'll get what's yours alright," he said, "if I ever see you here again. Now be gone!" As he spoke the last word he felt something give way, and the sound came out as a thunderous roar, as all the heavens shook with his voice. His raw desire for Janja to _go away_ was made manifest into a hurricane of wind that whipped overhead and crashed into the hyena, hurling him over the edge and sending him rolling and tumbling all the way back into the outlands.

Slowly Kion picked himself up again, not even realizing that he had thrown himself to the ground once the hurricane started. _What was… was that the Roar of the Elders? That's just… too much._

Bunga lifted his paws from the ears as the wind died away, then jumped up and broke into a grin. "That was _amazing!_ Wow, did you guys see him fly? Come on Kion, do it again!"

"I'll admit that _was_ pretty satisfying," Ono said carefully, "but all the same I'd prefer it if you didn't do it again. Those winds almost blew me away!"

"Yeah," said Beshti, "I felt like that roar was going to blow _me_ away. _Poa…"_

Fuli stared at Kion without saying a word, though every one of her hairs stood on end. He felt like he was being examined somehow; as if she was trying to evaluate whether a particularly foul-natured elephant was about to charge at her or not. As if for the first time, she was seeing him as a predator rather than a friend.

"Sorry about that, guys," he said, brushing his tuft of red hair back in place. "I had no idea that was going to happen. The king warned me that the Roar could be… volatile, like that."

Ono nodded, straightening out his feathers. "You ought to be careful with that gift, Kion. Something like that could do a heck of a lot more harm than good. Especially if you can't control it."

"Are you kidding me?" Bunga looked at them as though they were mad. "You could use that to reduce the whole Outlands to a ruined wreck! Well, more ruined than it already is, I mean." He tapped a clawed paw against his cheek. "Hey, do you think that's the reason why the place looks like such a dump? That King Ahadi or someone used the Roar against the hyenas out there back when we were still at war?"

Fuli stretched and started moving back to where the Wildebeests had gathered. "Sometimes a wasteland is just a wasteland, Bunga. Not every place is as beautiful as the Pridelands or your oasis in the desert." Slowly, her hairs started to smooth back down, but the watchful look in her eyes remained.

"I'm just saying it would explain a lot," Bunga protested. "Uncle Timon and Pumba used to say that Rafiki always told them that back at the secret lair of the Lion Guard at Pride Rock, which I guess is ours now, that there are all these old paintings showing our history, and some of them would show…"

Kion let their words wash over him as he walked – his thoughts were with the Roar, and how he had just used its power without meaning to. Simba had warned him that might happen: He had told him of how he himself had lost control once, and how his grandfather Ahadi had possessed him as a result, in his fight against Scar. The fight which had split the peak of Pride Rock in two, and left the Lair of the Lion Guard as little more than a crater…

 _"Forgive you? You killed my dad and seduced my mum!"_

 _"Look around you! Look at what your rage has wrought. All throughout the kingdom your subjects are dying of hunger and thirst, and your own family – your own son is forced to pay the price!"_

 _"How dare you bring up my son, when it was you who killed him!"_

"Kion? Are you alright?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine, Beshti. I'm just a little distracted, that's all." Where had those thoughts come from, just now? He was pretty sure his father had not described those events in that much detail.

They arrived at the plains where the wildebeests had gathered, the fear still plain to see in their eyes. Their leader bowed anxiously, sinking through his front legs. "Thank you… Prince Kion. We thank you…"

"That's… that's all right," he said, eying the horned beasts apprehensively. What was that Janja had said? _What do you think those lovely chunks of venison are made of?_

"Great," said Ono, coughing awkwardly. "Okay then, now that that's taken care off… shall we?"

"Right," said Kion, still staring at the wildebeests. "I guess so."

The five of them moved on in silence, wandering without any apparent purpose, each with their own thoughts in mind – except Bunga, whose excited babbling was largely ignored by the rest. After a while, Kion moved ahead to were Fuli made up the vanguard, as had become her habit.

"How do you do it?" he asked, in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "You don't have anybody to hunt your food for you. So how do you do it?"

"You just do," she said. "You sneak up on them from behind. You pounce and kill them before they have a chance to scream. And whatever you do, you don't let them talk."

Kion nodded. He would have to talk about it with his mother, or his grandmother perhaps. It would not be long before his sister would have to hunt for him too, he realized with a shock. Kiara. He was not sure whether he should feel grateful about that or not.

There was another minute of silence as they walked together, and then they heard Ono's voice.

 _"Hapana!_ It's the wildebeests – the hyenas are back!"

"What? Are you serious?" Kion turned and ran back with the rest of the group, while Fuli rushed ahead just as she had done before. By the time they arrived the hyenas were already running back to the Outlands, leaving the corpses of three half-eaten wildebeests behind.


	3. Kion's Lament

_"_ _And yet that's precisely how it works."_

* * *

Kion stared morosely at the abandoned wildebeest corpses. The surviving wildebeests all watched him from a safe distance, still huddled together in fear as they waited to see what he would do. Wildebeests had no ritual for their dead, but perhaps he could cover their bodies in leaves or something. It seemed wrong to just let them lie there, somehow.

Fuli scraped her throat, seeming to sense his thoughts. "I know you don't want to hear this, but…"

He maintained his gaze. "We're not eating the wildebeests, Fuli."

"If I don't eat the dead now, I'll have to catch another one later." She tilted his chin towards her with a spotted paw, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Is that what you want?"

He stared at her, but there was no coldness in those green eyes, nor any sign of cruelty. He was not sure why he had expected any – after all, he was no different from her. In fact, thinking about it in purely logical terms, she was the kinder of the two.

"Do what you want," he mumbled. "I'm not hungry."

He walked back in the direction they came from, though he did not really know where to go. If they left, would the hyenas come back again? If they stayed, would their enemies strike elsewhere? Most likely they would be content with what they had and would not risk it – would not risk Kion's wrath – but there really was no way to be sure, and no sure way to prevent it.

He stopped in front of the wildebeest leader. "I am very sorry for your loss," he said, bowing his head. "We'll do better in the future." How, he did not know. He left before they could give a reply.

"Hey, Kion." Beshti jogged up to him, kicking up dust as he went. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Beshti." He sighed. "Or not really, but what's it matter? Those wildebeests are not coming back to life."

Beshti gave him a reassuring smile. "My dad always says that when life kicks you down, you just need to kick yourself back up. We'll do better next time, Kion! I'm sure of it." Coming from anyone else, those words would have rang hollow, but hearing it from Beshti almost made Kion believe it.

"Thanks, Beshti." He tried his best to smile, and felt a little better for doing so.

Bunga and Ono followed suite, no longer pretending to be part of the background. "Don't worry about it, Kion." Bunga gave him what was probably meant to be a friendly pat on the shoulder. "You can't win them all. Zuka Zama, am I right?"

"We'll think of a new strategy," said Ono, ignoring Bunga. "Some way to scout the Hyenas out in advance. Maybe we could set up a line of sentries along the border, so we can get an early warning? I know some avian friends of mine who could help."

"That's a good idea," said Kion. "We should try that." He turned and headed towards the nearest hill. "I need some time to think. I'll see you guys at Pride Rock, all right?"

"Uh, sure," said Ono. "Talk to you later then, I guess."

Kion kept moving. He brushed past the bushes and underneath the brightly flowering acacias, and continued climbing until he reached the top of the grassy knoll. He stared up at the sky, which was blue but for a smattering of pale white clouds.

"Father said that this mark would let me talk to the Kings of the Past," he said, indicating the paw print on his shoulder. "I sure could use some heavenly wisdom right about now, if you have any on offer."

But the trees and the grass and the clouds were all silent, and the songbirds that were chirping in the valley below paid him no heed. If there were any spirits, they were not the talkative kind.

"Of course, Simba couldn't talk to grandfather whenever he wanted either. It would be nice if it were that easy: We could go with Ono's plan, only instead of birds we'd have giant lion heads in the sky to tell us when we're about to be attacked." He laughed bitterly. _And then lightning would strike down from the heavens, vaporising our enemies with pinpoint precision…_ Or better yet, they would shine a golden light so that all across the Outlands flowers would bloom, yielding such succulent and nourishing fruit that no carnivore would ever long for meat again.

"They say you gave me this Roar as a gift," he accused, first at the clouds and then the sun as well. "But what's the point if I can't control it? Why entrust the power to me only to unleash it without my say-so?" Being able to command the elements and call down rain seemed like it would be a boon to the whole Pridelands, but it was worse than useless if he could not make it _stop._ "What's the point of being leader of the Lion Guard, when everyone in the Pridelands fears us – when we're their greatest _threat?"_

There was a gust of wind that blew forest debris along in its wake, and Kion flinched as a large leaf struck his snout. In the time it took him to shake it off, he heard the barest whisper on the wind:

 _"…_ _seek me out…"_

Kion recoiled. He was half-tempted to tell himself he had only imagined it, but no: That had _definitely_ been a voice, and not of any living creature either. He supposed that after everything his father had told him, he should not really be so shocked, but still. One of the Kings of the Past had talked to him.

Of course, they wouldn't be spirits if they weren't _infuriatingly_ cryptic in their communications.

Kion stayed and listened a while longer, just in case.

* * *

It was already twilight by the time he made it back to Pride Rock, and the evening stars were taking first watch in the sky. Kion opted to enter through the Guard's secret passage hidden between two folds in the rock, brushing aside the curtain of vines to do so. As he walked through the narrow tunnel, the sound of laughter informed him of his friends' presence well before he could see them.

The guardsmen had all found their new favourite places: Fuli rested on top of an overhanging slab with clear view of the others, one paw hanging loosely down the side as she surveyed her domain. Bunga and Beshti were in the water, splashing and shouting, while Ono nested in a corner amongst the stalactites, impossible for any of them to reach. Every one of them was illuminated by the pale moonlight pouring down through the giant, gaping chasm that split the roof of Pride Rock in two.

Bunga and Beshti were the first to notice him. "Hey, it's Kion! Kion's back, everybody!"

Ono swooped down, nearly crashing in his haste to land. "Kion! Did you have time to consider my idea? What do you think?" He stopped himself, abashed. "Oh, and uh, are you doing okay?"

He laughed. "I'm fine, Ono." He smiled. "I was thinking that we could use a two-tiered approach, with birds scouting at intermittent intervals and then maybe some hippos or rhinos stationed near the border to act as a rapid response unit. If we plan it right, the Guard itself will barely even be necessary."

"Makes sense," said Ono. "Of course, uh, we will have to offer them something in return. Since most animals do have other things that they, ah, do. During the day. And evening, I guess."

"Seriously? They're demanding to be paid for protecting their own border?" He shook his head, feeling too tired to be truly angry. "We'll tell them they'll be fulfilling the wishes of the king by protecting the Pridelands from harm – and that he'll take special note of their service." He would have to discuss even that much with his father beforehand, for all that the assurance meant nothing. _Bloody politics..._

"I saved you some meat," said Fuli, as she leaped down from her plateau. She did not look very hopeful.

"Thanks Fuli, but that's okay." He turned to the exit, which lead up to the Royal Den. That exit had not been there before, his mother once told him, but the fight between Scar and Ahadi had been so devastating that it had opened up new passages and closed old ones. "I need to go talk to my family."

The rift in the rock made for a cramped and awkward passage, but it served. He arrived at the entrance of the den, which was much darker for the lack of a hole in the roof, but thankfully a bit cooler as well. No sooner did he enter or a young lioness rose up from the royal dais and bounded towards him.

"Hey Kion! Did you hear the big news? Father is finally going to let me go hunt by myself, away from the rest of the pride. He is _so_ doting, I swear, it's ridiculous."

He smiled despite himself. "Hey Kiara. Hunting, huh? Isn't that a bit… bloody?"

She rolled her eyes. "Now don't _you_ start! Why does everyone keep acting like I need to be protected? I'm the older sister, after all – I'm the one that's going to be queen someday!" She paused a second before smirking at him. "Or is that what this is about? Don't tell me you're jealous of me, _little brother."_

He laughed. "I suppose I _could_ use a vacation – doing nothing of importance for a while would be nice."

She tried to tackle him, but he neatly sidestepped her: There was no denying her keen senses on the trail, but in combat she was no match for him.

Leaving his sister lying in the dust, he advanced towards the dais where his parents rested. "I'm back. Mum, dad."

His mother smiled warmly at him. "Hello Kion. We already finished dinner, but there's still some leftovers if you're hungry." Nala always sounded a bit hoarse, which he would have liked to ascribe to her command over the huntresses, but bellowing orders was not quite her leadership style. The alternative, that it was the result of raising two screaming children, he quickly rejected.

"That's okay mum, thanks. Hey dad, could I talk to you for a second? I need your advice on something."

There was a snort behind him. "…and now he's acting all important. _Leader of the Lion Guard._ Pfwah."

"Of course son," his father said, rising up from the dais. "Let's take a walk." The two of them exited through the main entrance to the den, and were greeted by a warm evening breeze as they did so. "Is this about what happened during your patrol? Ono told me about the attack."

"Yeah." Kion was not sure how he felt about Ono reporting directly to his father, but he supposed that an attack by hyenas was something that had to be communicated immediately. "The Hyenas had this leader, Janja… we've had trouble with him before, haven't we? He said that there isn't enough food for them in the Outlands, and that forcing them to stay there is a death sentence. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't take anything Janja says too seriously," Simba said, though the line burned into his forehead made it look as though he did. "He and his hyenas have been known to kill for sport when they're able."

Kion frowned. While evil, that did not necessarily mean they had enough food at other times. "So then why are they there in the first place? Because we used to be at war with hyenas? Dad, it seems wrong to tell a whole species that they can't live here just because of something their ancestors did, long ago."

"And yet that's precisely how it works." The king shook his head, his crimson mane blowing gently with the breeze as he moved. "Children always benefit or suffer as a result of their parentage, depending on whether they're raised well or neglected – and we love our family even if we know them to be wrong. You are after all a prince and your sister a princess, as a direct result of the actions of our forefathers. Do you deny it?"

Kion hesitated. "No, but-"

"You can't, because to deny them would be to deny yourself. Their legacy is more than just history: It is an integral part of who we _are._ You could no more change that than you could change the fact that you're a lion. _"_ They walked along the ledge leading towards the back of Pride Rock, where the Lionesses gathered. While their home was bleak and foreboding from the front, the rear was much more gently sloped and covered in lush trees and plants. "You cannot have it both ways. You either accept both the good and the ill of your ancestors, or you denounce them entirely – and the hyenas never did the latter. Of course, if they showed any sign of being able to change I would be willing to give them a chance here in the Pridelands. But even your granduncle was never able to make that happen."

They stopped at a small knoll at the centre of the slope leading downwards, underneath an overhanging canopy of sweet-smelling acacia's. The starlight shining down coated the leaves with a silver sheen.

"I want to try to talk with them," Kion said at last. "Dad, I want to lead an expedition to the Outlands. Just me and the Guard. It has to be possible to reach some kind of understanding with them, somehow."

His father nodded. "It's good that you feel that way, though you shouldn't get your hopes up too much. Peace is never as easy to achieve as it should be." He hesitated a moment, and coughed. "And ah, I wouldn't take Bunga with you when you go."

Kion laughed. "He's not going to like that, since he's the one that's been saying we should go there from the start. But then, I guess that's the reason why."

"Quite. Diplomacy tends to require a more… sensitive approach." King Simba crouched down on the knoll, and gave him an appraising look. "That's not all you came here to talk to me about though, is it?"

"No." He sat down next to his father, gazing at the stars that peaked out from between the leaves. "Dad… I used the Roar without meaning to. I guess I was angry, or – I don't know what it was, but it just _happened_. I went to try and talk to the Spirit Kings like you taught me, and… I got an answer."

Simba stared at him for a long time, his own scorched markings glinting in the starlight. "Son, you need to be very careful, from now on. I won't ask you what you heard, but… remember that not all the Spirit Kings have your best interests in mind. The first time I used that power against Scar, King Ahadi possessed me and injured me the way you see now. Keep your ears open, but don't trust them blindly."

Kion nodded. It was no more than what he had expected to hear, but he still needed to hear it.

After a while the two of them headed back to the royal den, as it was now well and truly night. His father lay down on the dais next to his mother and sister. After hesitating a second, Kion joined them on his mother's side.

"Mum?"

She stirred faintly. "Yes Kion?"

"How do you do it? How do you hunt animals that eat, sleep, and speak just as we do?"

It was silent for a while as Kion stared into the darkness of the cave, with no more to listen to than the soft breathing of his family and the other lionesses that slept further down the den.

"You just do," she whispered. "You sneak up and pounce on them before they get the chance to scream. And whatever you do, you don't let them talk."


	4. War by other Means

Another chapter! Why? Because nobody is leaving reviews, and I'm guessing that's because people are waiting for the plot to develop so that there is more to discuss. Of course, this does incentivise readers to comments less so that I will update more, but I'll just hope people here are not smart enough to realize that. :P

Also, this chapter marks the end of terrible chapter titles. Seriously, I could not be arsed to come up with good names for the last two chapter, so I just made them references to songs/episodes from The Lion Guard and told myself I was being clever. Anyway, enjoy! And keep the predictions coming. I love seeing how other people thinks this story will develop. :)

* * *

 _"That might just be the most closeminded opinion I've ever heard."_

* * *

The next morning, the group had gathered at the border for their diplomatic mission – such as it was.

"Sorry guys, I really wish I could help!" Beshti gave them an apologetic look, which Kion had no doubt was heartfelt. It had completely slipped his mind that the hippo could not go too long in the sun, and unlike the Pridelands there was too little vegetation in the Outlands for that to be feasible.

"Don't worry about it Beshti," he reassured him. "We'll manage." Losing their main source of muscle would make this mission far more dangerous – though he felt guilty for thinking of his friend that way. Still, he would use the Roar if it came to that, and the one bright point in going to the Outlands was that there was not much of value there for him to accidentally destroy.

"Exactly," said Fuli, sounding far more eager. She turned to Zazu, who had been assigned to escort them to the border. "We've got this, sir. Ono and I will keep Kion out of trouble, no problem."

"Yes, well." The red-beaked hornbill gave their group a rather unimpressed look. "That remains to be seen. Ono, if there's any sign of trouble I want you to fly straight back and send for help. The young master's safety is paramount, understood?"

"Yes sir! I won't let you down." The white heron raised one wing in salute. Kion was not sure why Ono was taking orders from his father's majordomo, but he decided not to make a fuss about it. Perhaps it was a bird thing?

Zazu gave the group one more appraising look, and sniffed. "I should hope not. If through some rare and unfortunate set of circumstances the young master were to end up being gargled down some hyena's throat, there's no sense in guessing who His Majesty will send to dive in after him." He sighed and waved his wing dismissively. "Go on then you lot, be off with you."

"Alright," said Ono, taking flight, _"'till the Pridelands' end, Lion Guard defend!"_

"It's just a diplomatic mission," said Fuli, rolling her eyes. "We're not going to war."

"I know that," he protested. "I just thought we should mark the occasion, that's all..."

Beshti waved them goodbye as they went. "Good luck guys! Be careful!"

They crossed the river at its narrowest point, and soon the landscape began to change around them. Grassy hills were replaced by rocky outcrops as the once-welcoming savannah transformed into a desert of sand and grit. Lush trees grew black and withered, and the undergrowth turned into a hostile tangle of thorn bushes. It was not hard for Kion to see how an animal living here might have their thoughts turned to theft and murder – not hard at all.

There had been some discussion with Zazu over where best to start, but in the end they had decided that their best chance of finding civilized Outlanders would be by venturing to the watering holes, which were located deep inside the Outlands. And that meant crossing a vast area of wasteland to get there.

"I can't believe they actually let us go," Fuli said. "Just three members of the Guard on an expedition into the Outlands. Your father must have a lot of faith in you, Kion."

"Well, I do have the Roar to protect me," Kion said. "But yeah. I guess he does."

Ono had taken to flying high overhead, on the lookout for any trouble. It was reassuring, to know that someone was watching over them. Still, if there were any enemies hiding in the caves that lined the cliff faces on either side of them, Ono would not be able to see it.

Fuli followed his gaze to the dark holes that pockmarked the looming stone crags all around them. "Pretty ominous, huh? What do you think – any chance of us running into the dreaded Zimwi out here?"

"There's no such thing as a two-headed creature with eight legs," Kion said, "so no." He examined his feline companion, giving her a pensive look. "Hey Fuli, I've always wondered: Those stripes on your back – they're not common for cheetahs, are they?"

She grinned. "Nope. I got those from my parents: We're King Cheetahs." She glanced towards her own back. "They look pretty sweet, don't you think? Makes me look fast, too _–_ not that I need the help."

"Yeah, they're nice." He hesitated. She had never even mentioned her parents before. "Can I ask…"

"I left them," she said. "It's normal for cheetahs – we're solitary animals, after all."

"Oh okay," said Kion, relieved. "So it's not that they were very demanding or anything."

"Nah, too doting in fact." She grinned. "You know me, Kion. I go my own way."

He laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah. I guess I do."

After a moment, Ono came swooping down. "Okay guys, we should be getting close to the first watering hole. If there's any friendly faces in the Outlands, it should be around here."

"Good work Ono. Let's-" There was the sound of a single stone rolling down the cliff behind them. "What was that?" He turned, seeing only cliffs and empty wasteland. "Who's out there?"

Fuli gave Ono a sharp look. "I thought you were covering our back."

"I did! But those caves are too dark – and the sun's too low to make out what's beneath the cliffs!"

"Enough," said Kion, growling at the place where the sound had come from, at the shadow where he imagined his enemy was hiding. He could feel the line from his stomach drawing taut, and he knew that he could unleash divine destruction if need be. "Come on out, whoever you are. We don't want to hurt you, but if you don't show yourself…"

"I'm right here." The trio jumped and turned around to find a female hyena standing _behind_ them, near the other side of the ravine. "You Pridelanders don't have very good hearing, do you?"

Fuli crouched low and growled. "Back off, Hyena! If you try to touch him–"

"Calm down." The hyena rolled her eyes. "You Pridelanders are just as humourless as they say. I just thought it would be funny to surprise you, that's all."

Ono raised an eyebrow. "So you're the one that dropped the rock? How did you do that from over there?"

"Rock? I just snuck up on you from behind just now." She turned and beckoned them to come to her end of the ravine. "Are you coming? I'm guessing you didn't walk all the way over here for nothing, right? Or is invading other territories just something lion princes do for fun?"

"No," said Kion, "we came here to – wait, you know who I am?"

She laughed. "Of course I do. Prince Kion, Captain of the Lion Guard, just like the great king Scar before him. Leader of the group that slaughtered our kind for generations. Janja won't shut up about you."

"Janja?" Fuli's growl intensified. "So you're related? He's killed three of our wildebeests."

"Did he? I'm sure he'll brag about it later. But no, we're not part of the same clan. I just… know him." She turned into an alcove, and the trio followed. Immediately, their surrounding transformed: A pool of water lay right in the centre of an oasis; a veritable sanctuary right in the middle of the rocky desert. There were actual green plants, rather than the grey and brown thorns they had become accustomed to, and amongst them lived a clan of hyenas. Small cubs were playing near the pool with not a care in the world.

"My clan split off from Janja's some time ago," The hyena explained. "My name's Jasiri. Make yourself at home."

"You invited us into your home?" Ono stared at the Hyenas cubs, who had spotted them and were now trying to hide behind a big grey rock. The other hyenas looked up in alarm at their approach, but did not move, seeming to trust in Jasiri. "Why would you do that? If it turns out we're enemies…"

She laughed again, and it sounded just as mocking as before. "Come off it, Pridelander. We're not all as paranoid as you. Call it a token of trust. Besides, what're you gonna do? Eat us?"

"It's tempting," Fuli muttered, before Kion silenced her with a glare.

"Jasiri, I thank you for inviting us into your home," he said. "Fuli and Ono here are my companions. We were hoping we could find some kind of solution to your troubles, as well as ours."

"Troubles?" She laughed. "We're doing just fine, thank you very much! And stop with the formalities, you sound absolutely _ridiculous."_

"I do _not_ sound ridiculous," he said, finding himself growing hot around the cheeks. "I'm just trying to be diplomatic, that's all. Your friend Janja attacked us earlier, and he said that we sentenced you guys to death by making you stay here. I wanted to find out if that was true."

She snorted loudly. "Janja's every bit as ridiculous as you. We've had some tough times, sure, but we can take care of ourselves." She jumped on top of the grey rock and called out to the whimpering cubs that were hiding behind it. "Come on out little ones! They're just silly Pridelanders. Nothing to be afraid of."

"You might not want to teach them to be unafraid of lions," said Ono, frowning. "Remember that you're talking to Prince Kion, the fiercest animal in the Pridelands."

 _"The fiercest-"_ Jasiri rolled from the rock, choking with laughter. "Oh, you guys are just too precious!"

"Enough!" Kion was blushing furiously now. "We came here on a diplomatic mission, not to be made fun of. Where is your matriarch?"

One of the other female hyenas approached them. "We're currently short one matriarch, but we take care of each other." She smiled apologetically. "Please forgive my sister. She has some trouble taking things seriously."

Jasiri pulled herself off the ground, wiping tears from her eyes. "Kion, this is my sister, Madoa. Madoa, this is Prince Kion, the fiercest animal" – she snickered – "of the, the _pwahahaha, I can't it's too much!"  
_  
Ono stared balefully at the hyena, who was once again rolling on the ground in laughter. "I think I'm starting to see why Janja left."

Kion ignored them. "What happened to your matriarch?"

"Shenzi left with King Scar to find a solution to our problems," the older hyena said. "Something about bringing balance; I confess it was all a bit mystical to me. We stayed together for a while, but when it became clear that our matriarch was not about to return, Janja took most of the male hyenas with him and formed his own clan. He's been attacking anyone who he considers an easy target ever since."

Jasiri got up, snorting derisively. "He spouted some nonsense about _male pride_ and left in a huff. I think he just couldn't handle the fact that I kicked him in the 'nads whenever we got into a fight."

Ono exchanged a look with Fuli. "Janja is starting to sound more sympathetic by the second."

"No kidding," she said. "I'm a _girl_ and I feel like I get where he's coming from."

" _Diplomatic mission_ , you guys!" Kion gave them another glare for emphasis. He was starting to think he might just as well have taken Bunga along at this point. "Madoa, I came here to ask you if you're interested in migrating to the Pridelands. You said you can manage out here, but you and your clan seem friendly enough, so if you like I can ask my father to lift the banishment and let you in."

She frowned. "It is true that food and water are becoming scarcer these days, especially now that Janja and his clan have killed so many of the animals here. And I do have to consider the little ones…" She hesitated. "This is a big decision. Please give us some time to think it over, Prince Kion."

Kion nodded. He doubted that Simba would refuse her, especially when he heard about the cubs, but he would still need to ask. "All right. Then, if you're the only major clan in these parts, and it doesn't sound like there's much point in talking to Janja… I guess we're done here."

"I'll escort you out," said Jasiri, still chortling. "I wouldn't want you Pridelanders to get lost, with _your_ sense of direction."

"Hilarious." Kion and the others followed Jasiri out of the oasis and back into the ravine, and none too soon. There was a pressure building in the back of his head which had not been improved by the hyena's antics. He rubbed his forehead, willing himself to focus.

"Are you all right?" Fuli was giving him a concerned look. That compassionate expression still looked strange on her, no matter how many times he saw it. There was a part of him that could not put away the image of her eating those dead wildebeests, unfair as that was.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just have a headache. The sooner we get back to the Pridelands, the better."

Ono nodded in agreement. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be happy when we're dealing with Bunga again. Sheesh."

Kion stared at him. "Ono? Shouldn't you be up in the sky, scouting for enemies?"

There was a moment of silence. And then the sound of rocks crashing down.


	5. Sisi ni Sawa

_"Nobody's cutting anything out of anybody."_

* * *

The group had just enough time to duck for cover before the rocks came crashing down in front of them, blocking their way out of the ravine. Before Kion could turn back to the passage leading to the oasis, another rock fell and blocked that path as well.

The sound of laughter echoed down from on high, leaving no question in identifying their attacker.

"Hahaha! Looking a little cloistered there, fellas! You guys picked an awkward time to come visit my extended family. You should've sent a message in advance, Kion!"

"Janja." He picked himself off the ground, coughing stone dust as he did so. "Why are you attacking us? We're here on a diplomatic mission to see if your people really are starving like you said. We wanted to offer you hyenas a chance to come to the Pridelands." Which was technically true, though he doubted his father would let Janja in – and frankly, neither would he.

"Oh, we're starving all right." Janja's form only barely peaked out above the cliff's edge, but it was not hard to imagine his expression. "You need more than just food to live, _Prince Kion_. Take a good look around: There's nothing here but ash and dust. We've had to beg and grovel and eat bones and bugs just to get by, and now you come here to act like all that's in the past? No way, no how!"

"So you're the one who dropped that rock," said Ono, hovering in position next to Kion. "You and your clan were following us right from the start!"

"Eh? I dunno what you're talking about, bird boy. I just thought I'd pay Jasiri a visit so I could make up for lost time, that's all. It's been ever so long since we really had a chance to… talk."

Jasiri laughed scathingly. "Ooh, did I hurt the big bad meanie in his little boy pride? Why don't you come down here so I can kiss it better, Janja?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" His glare was visible even from down in the ravine. "You might have me beat when it comes to brute strength, Jasiri, but I'm not playing your game anymore. Do it, boys!"

There was commotion at the top of the cliff, and soon several more rocks came into view.

"Don't be an idiot," Fuli shouted. "Think this through! Janja, if you kill Kion, what do you think will happen next? His father will burn down the whole Outlands to get to you, until it makes the pile of ash and dust it is now look like Pride Rock!"

"The lady's got a point." A second hyena popped into view. "I don't wanna become ash and dust, Janja."

"Yeah," said another. "Can't we just sort of wing 'em a little and call it good?"

"Shut it, furbrains! Kion made a fool out of me, and there ain't nobody who gets away with that. Drop 'em!"

"I'll go get help," said Ono, flitting about in panic. "I'll fly back to the Pridelands and–"

"There's no time," said Fuli, staring in horror at the rocks that were about to fall on them. "We have to climb over the blockade before –"

The rocks tipped over the edge and fell, seeming first the size of pebbles but growing ever larger as they tumbled down the cliffs, and then…

The line from Kion's stomach snapped taut and he _roared._ The wind erupted from his mouth like a hurricane, smashing into the rocks and scattering them, _tossing_ them into the air until they were circling the air like a flock of vultures. The vortex smashed Janja and his crew aside, while the mountain shuddered and the ground vanished beneath Kion's paws. Then there was a flash of light, and no more.

* * *

Darkness.

The first thing Kion felt was his headache, which was stronger than before. The pounding in his head was like a cascade of falling rocks against his skull – and that thought immediately brought him back to the present, for he realized in horror that this might literally be the case.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring at an endless wall of sand and stone that rose up before him – but no, he was just looking at the ground. He raised his head shakily. There was sand all around him, and pillars of brown stone that looked like some giant had stacked boulders on top of each other, starting and ending with the largest so that they tapered in the middle. He was truly stranded in the desert now.

"Ono? Fuli?" He gazed at the desolate landscape that extended all around him. "Hello? Anybody?"

A faint, groaning sound emanated from one of the stone pillars, and he moved to investigate.

 _"_ _Eughh…"_

At the foot of the pillar there lay a grey and spotted hyena, covered in sand. She was slender, if large for a hyena – as large as him, even. Her long black locks lay in a tangled mess around her.

"Jasiri? Is that you?"

She shot up at the mention of her name, only to stagger and fall over again. She shook the sand out of her mane and blinked. "Kion?" Slowly, her eyes seemed to regain some of their focus. "You're hurt."

"Am I?" He brushed a paw over his forehead, which felt wet and sticky. "Huh. I guess I am."

She rose again, successfully this time, and looked around in a daze. "Where are we? How did we get here? What… what _was_ that?"

"That was the Roar of the Elders," he said with a sigh. "It's the power which was granted to me by the Kings of the Past. I think it created a whirlwind that carried us away from danger – more or less." He frowned. "As for where we are, we're in the Outlands. Don't you recognize your own homeland?"

"Of course I know we're in the Outlands," she said with a roll of the eyes. "That doesn't mean I know where exactly. Do _you_ know every part of your homeland by heart, Pridelander?"

"Well yeah _,"_ said Kion. "My father taught me that a wise ruler must know every area of his kingdom, and so when I was still a cub he took me with him on his morning duties whenever he could." It was tradition to teach the second child the duties of the king, just in case something happened to the first, as had been the case with Scar. Kion sincerely hoped that he would never need those lessons.

"Oh," said Jasiri. "Well, I'm sorry I never had a _king_ to teach me the ins and outs of his _kingdom_."

Kion ignored her. He gazed around, trying to see if he could spot any landmarks, but every part of the desert looked the same. Seeing no other options, he closed his eyes and focussed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to tap into my connection to the Spirit Kings," he said, doing his best to suppress his growing headache. "I've done it before, so maybe I can make it happen again."

 _Great_ _Kings of the Past, show me the path that leads back to my friends…_

"Pff, what a bunch of poppycock. Just because you have a bunch of old dead lions on your side doesn't mean their sense of direction is any good." She snorted. "They're probably all senile by now, anyway."

The line to Kion's stomach snapped into place, and although it wasn't nearly as strong as before, the direction was unmistakable. "There," he said, opening his eyes. "We need to go that way."

"Why that way?" She followed him despite her complaints. "This doesn't look right at all. The sun is over there _,_ which means north is there, so the oasis should be… well, not this way. Hey, hold up!"

Kion tried his best to block her out as he walked. The sun was beating down on him, and though he tried to get as much benefit of the pillars' shade as he could, the blistering heat did nothing to improve his pounding headache. Plus, he was _hungry_. He had not paid attention to it for a long time, but now there was a chasm inside of him that rumbled like a ravenous beast, howling for meat.

"Uh oh, looks like _somebody_ gets grouchy when he's hungry. Here, hold on." She moved to one of the stone pillars where a gleam of white amongst the sand revealed the scattered bones of a long dead animal. She carelessly rummaged through them. "Lucky! There's still some marrow in these."

He eyed the old skeleton with distaste. "Jasiri, this is no time to be chewing on old bones. Janja just attacked us right outside your home, and he could still be out there. Doesn't that bother you?"

"I trust my family to take care of themselves," she said, "and so should you. Face it Kion, you're in no condition to help anybody. Now go on, have a bite: It's no zebra, but it's not so bad."

"Jasiri, those bones look like they belong to a hyena."

She glanced at the skeleton. "Doesn't look like anybody _I_ know."

"That does it," he said, carrying on with twice his previous speed, and twice the headache. "I don't have time for this." The connection to his stomach was getting stronger with each step he took.

"Kion, wait!" She sped up to keep pace besides him, and gave him an exasperated look. "You know what your problem is? You Pridelanders are so full of yourselves that you can't bring yourself to listen to anyone else's advice, and so you just go off on a whim and act like you know what you're doing. If you were just a little less close minded…"

"Close minded?" He gave her an incredulous stare. "How am _I_ the one that's close minded here? You're the one who's been mocking me for being a Pridelander right from the start! I came all the way over here to help you, risking my _life_ , and all you do is insult my friends and family." Fuli and Ono could be in danger right now – being devoured by a group of hyenas that had only intended to go after _her_ – but she did not seem to care about that in the slightest.

"I never asked you to come visit, and I'm hardly responsible for what Janja does," she protested. "I only make fun of you because you think you're better than me. Don't try to deny it! You keep going on about how you're a prince and you know the king and you're so much more _responsible_ than me. Do you think any of that royalty stuff matters out here? We're the same, Kion. Sisi ni sawa."

"No, we're not." He latched onto the argument, using it to distract from his headache, his hunger and his fear for his friends. "I'm a lion, and you're a hyena. I'm from the Pridelands, and you're from the Outlands. I try to be responsible, and you treat everything as a joke. We're as different as can be."

She scoffed loudly. "You really think any of that stuff matters? Take a look beneath the fur. It's who we are on the inside that matters, Kion. It's about how we feel and what we do – not the stuff we own and the titles we hold. Deep down we're the same."

"But that's just not true," he said. "Being a prince _is_ who I am on the inside." He recalled his father's heartfelt speech, about how an ancestor's legacy becomes an integral part of who you are. "Look, I get what you're saying, about how we're both living thinking beings and yeah, it's really important not to overlook that. But all that other stuff matters too. You can't just make some random meerkat the Captain of the Guard and expect the same result. There's a reason why it's lions who rule the kingdom."

She stared at him incredulously. "So you do think you're better than me. You admit it."

"I think I'm better than you in _some_ ways," he said, "just as you're better than me in others. That just means we're different, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you want to press me on the issue, then sure, I think the reason we won the war is that we had honour and discipline and the wisdom of our ancestors on our side, while you guys rejected all of that just as you're doing right now. And yeah, I think those qualities make me a better prince and captain than you would."

"Wow," she said. "That's just… wow. That might just be the most closeminded opinion I've ever heard."

"Well, I guess you're closeminded too then," he said dryly, "seeing how we're… the same…"

In front of the two travellers, without either of them noticing, a giant cave had risen. The stalactites decorating the overhanging entrance made it resemble, ever so slightly, a lion's maw. Right in the centre of the shadow of the cave, a dark and aging lion sat hunched over, waiting for them.

"Welcome," said Scar, "to your new home."

* * *

 **A/N:** Dun dun dunnnn! Probably quite a few of you were expecting it, but here we are. Everyone's favourite renegade lion king is back!

You might have noticed that the Lion King has some contemporary themes, when you think about it. I mean, hyenas which are not allowed to enter the Pridelands because they are foreigners who cannot be trusted? And then in the Lion Guard cartoon you have Kion who for the first time invites other species into his guard, one of them a girl, much to the chagrin of his traditionalist father.

On the other hand, Kion doesn't actually disagree when Zira tells him that lions are superior in her Lions Uber Alles speech (No really, the song is literally called "lions over all"). He just says that 'using fear and threat is no way to rule', and he never questions the fact that he is part of a monarchy. In Simba's Pride, Simba even literally says that not wanting to be a princess is 'like not wanting to be a lion; it's in your blood'. So that's a pretty interesting duality which I wanted to explore.

As for which viewpoint I agree with… well, what do you think? Who is less wrong here, Kion or Jasiri? Write a review and let me know!


	6. Sustainable Solutions

**A/N:** Last chapter sparked some very interesting discussion on Kion's debate/argument with Jasiri. It's supposed to be Kion arguing for the superiority of his culture, while Jasiri is arguing that their truly fundamental values are the same regardless. Personally, I think Kion is more right than Jasiri (and am apparently one of the few!), as he is willing to grant Jasiri's point about fundamental values but Jasiri is unwilling to admit that Kion's point is more than just "I'm better than you". It's supposed to mirror contemporary debates of course, where the left tends to win the major cultural battles but the right still holds political power, and both sides are envious of what the other team has while taking their own power for granted.

But in story terms, it's more a case of both of them being stuck in a desert under a blazing sun, with Kion being hungry and afraid for his friends while Jasiri can't help but feel a bit resentful about him being a prince. Neither of them feels much like listening to the other in that moment - and that of course can be interpreted as commentary as well :p

* * *

 _"Kion? I'm scared."_

* * *

"That lion," said Jasiri, "Is that…"

"Scar," said Kion, breathlessly. He stared at his granduncle, who sat silently in the maw of the cave. "How in the world…"

"Hello Kion. Jasiri." The aging lion inclined his head towards them as though it were the most normal thing in the world. As he did so, a string of crimson gourds peeked out from underneath his dark mane, clattering softly in the silence. "It's good that you made it here – though not unhurt, I see."

Kion's paw went to his forehead, unbidden. Even his headache and his hunger seemed unimportant in that moment. "Granduncle. What… what are you doing here in the Outlands?" The old lion was not _strictly_ speaking an enemy, but he was still the most dangerous animal alive and everyone knew it. He was Scar the usurper, the slayer of kings. He had fought a god in single combat during the fight that had split Pride Rock in half, and the goddess of wrath was said to be at his back and call.

"I was banished from the Pridelands," the old legend said dryly. "By your father, in fact. Did he forget to mention that titbit to you?" His lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "But it's just as well. Here, I can conduct my labours undisturbed by… less enlightened folks."

"Labours?" Kion stared at him, still trying to gather his thoughts. "Wait, were you the one who…"

"Shenzi," Jasiri interrupted him, eyes wide. "Our matriarch went with you – is she here now?"

"Ah, so many questions. How I've missed having little ones around… like a bad toothache." Scar tilted his head in the direction of the cave. "Come, let's discuss everything inside. The sun out here is _murder_."

Kion nodded almost without thought, and followed him into the mouth of the cave. "You're the one who drew me here," he said, realizing. "Does that mean it was it your voice I heard, back on that hill?"

"It might have been." The former king gave a lazy shrug. "I drew on our familial connection: I sensed your growing power and thought you might be able to use some guidance from the Pridelands' wisest, seeing how your father never mastered his own abilities. Well, not that either Rafiki or I had much chance to teach him before I was banished, but that was really his own fault when you think about it."

"So you don't know where my friends are, either."

"I'm afraid I have no connection to the rest of your Guard, no. But that Roar of yours could be heard all the way from the Pridelands, so I expect you'll see a familiar face here rather soon."

Jasiri was still eyeing him apprehensively. "Scar…"

He sighed. "Yes, yes. You'll find what you're looking for further down below." The three of them ventured deeper into the cavern, but though the light from outside grew more dim with each step they took, the air almost seemed to be getting warmer somehow. Kion wondered faintly how that was even possible, yet there were more important things to consider.

"Granduncle Scar," he said, "those gourds around your neck: I've seen them before, during my training. They're used for gaining enlightenment, aren't they? Is that what you've been doing here all this time?"

"Smart boy. Yes, those are related to what I'm doing, though I assure you that enlightenment is something I mastered long ago. Ah, here we are." The trio was assailed by a wave of heat as the tunnel opened up into a wide chamber, and Kion's nostrils flared as they were filled with a pungent smell. In the center of the room rose a forbidding stone mound from which one could survey the rest of the chamber, around which yawned a dimly glowing chasm that vented strange fumes. It was only when Kion heard the bubbling that he realized in shock that it was lava supplying the cavern with light and heat: That chasm had to extend far further down than he initially thought.

In the centre of the room lay three hyenas, lounging in front of the stone peak amidst a sea of scattered bones. The female lying in front had a dark glint in her eyes, while the two males looked dully ahead, drooling and softly giggling to themselves.

The lead hyena gave them a weary look. "Jasiri. So you finally found me, huh?"

Jasiri stared back, defiant. "Shenzi. I thought – I thought Scar had taken you to the other side of the world, to find a solution to our problems. You were here in the Outlands all this time? _Why?"_

The lost matriarch shrugged. "Oh, he did take me around the world… and then we set up here, to finish what we started."

"Shenzi has been helping me teach the animals around here enlightenment," Scar explained. "She was one of my first students: I owed it to her because of… various reasons." He gave a meaningful glance towards one of the drooling hyenas in the back. "The plan is to eventually have an enlightened representative from every major species, each with the ability to control the elements – or what young Kion here would call the _Roar of the Elders._ With that kind of power in the hands of the wise, it would no longer be possible to ignore the needs of lesser species. There would be… equality, of a sort."

"Then why didn't you _come back?"_ There was a desperation in Jasiri's eyes that looked wrong on her. "If you learned, like, Kion's magical powers or something, then come back and use them to defend us!"

Shenzi waved her paw dismissively. "Oh please, what use would I be to you? I'm _old,_ Jasiri. Plus I got these two to take care of." She thumbed a paw at her two shadows. "We'd just eat your food and give you nothing of value in return. Nah, far better to just let you and little Janja run the show from now on."

"Little Janja is running his own show now," Jasiri said bitterly. "Shenzi, you have to come back! Our watering hole is running dry, and Janja is taking all the hunting grounds for himself. You have no idea how hard it's been since you left."

Kion looked at her in wonder. This was as serious as he had seen her in… had it really only been a few hours since they met? "I thought you said you and your clan were doing _just fine_."

"Well yeah." She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't about to confess all of our problems to a _Pridelander_."

Shenzi was shaking her head. "I can't be around to solve your problems forever, Jasiri – though if Scar's right I might be able to offer you a bit of advice now and then when I'm up there in the stars." She gave Jasiri a crooked grin. "You're just gonna have to settle matters between you and little Janja yourself, dearie."

"Wait," said Kion, realization dawning, "little Janja – you mean he's your _son?"_

"You shouldn't act so shocked," Shenzi said with half-lidded eyes. "Even bad boys have mommas."

"He's more than just a bad boy now," said Kion. "He's attacked the Pridelands and killed three wildebeests, and he tried to kill Jasiri and myself in the ravine. He needs to be dealt with."

Kion felt a paw tugging on his shoulder. "Come," said Scar. "Let's leave them to it, shall we? I'll show you around." Reluctantly, Kion allowed himself to be pulled away from the two hyenas, sensing that their conversation was not going to be a pleasant one.

"Granduncle, I don't have time for a tour. My friends…"

"…will be taken care of," Scar finished. "Help is on the way. In the meantime, you need to learn about what we have been doing here. You wield the power of the Roar just as we do, and that makes it our shared responsibility." He entered one of the side-caves, motioning Kion to follow him.

"All right," he said, "but I'm taking a risk in trusting you, granduncle. I…" He coughed. "What's that _smell?"_

"Hey guys, come on in!" Three blurry figures were lounging amidst a sea of crimson smoke, which Kion had thought at first to be volcanic fumes. His eyes stung and his vision blurred from the pungent gas.

"Yeah," said the second figure, who appeared to be… a pig? "The more the merrier, eh Timon?"

Scar sighed deeply. "It turns out that the crimson fruits can be used for a variety of effects, with different results depending on the user. Kion, meet Timon and Pumbaa. I'd have kicked them out a long time ago if I did not feel some shared responsibility for setting their previous master on fire."

"Eh, forget about it." The second figure waved his hand dismissively. The meerkat was lying spread out on the stone floor of the cavern, looking very relaxed indeed. "You gotta put the past behind you is what I always say. Isn't that right, Pumbaa?"

"Yeah," said Pumbaa, nodding enthusiastically. "The past is in the, that thing behind the thing with the… stuff." He rallied. "Besides, this way our boy's getting a royal education! I'm so _proud."_

"Your boy?" Kion blinked against the fumes, trying to make out the shape of the third figure. "What."

"Oh hey Kion! How's it going?" Bunga gave him a cheerful wave. "I didn't recognize you for a second there. So hey, meet my adoptive parents! They're really chill dudes. Oh, and Scar, I guess. He's cool too."

 _"_ _Bunga,_ _what are you doing here?_ How… why…" He pinched his eyes closed, trying to overcome the effects of the fumes that were working their way in through his nostrils. "Okay, look. I get that your parents hang out here and that's why you know about this place, but that doesn't explain how you're a part of all this and _why did you never tell me about Scar?"_

"I'm helping him with his secret plan to save the Pridelands!" He waved at Scar, who seemed to be experienced in suffering his antics. "I'm allowed to say that now, right? Great. So anyways, I was just visiting my dads' and apparently it turns out that I'm one of those super cool enlightened people who are able to control the elements! Bunga the Wise, they call me."

"Nobody calls him that," said Scar. "Rather, we found out in our research that enlightenment requires both clarity of purpose and a correspondingly singular focus toward one's goals. It turns out that the honey badger's bloody-minded dedication to the pursuit of _fun_ foots the bill, as it were."

Bunga grinned widely. "Hey Kion, since we've got the same powers, does that mean we're equals now? I feel like it does. Heck, we're basically brothers!"

"That does it," said Kion. "I'm getting out of here before these fumes and all this weirdness melts my brain."

"Toss another fruit on the fire while you're out there. The air is getting clear in here!"

Kion followed Scar to the next chamber, still trying to suppress his growing headache. _I swear, if this next inhabitant is just as stupid I am going to scream._

As he entered the room he stopped, taking in the sight before him. A red snake was coiled in the centre of the room, swaying silently on the spot as though in a trance, while four red pillars of smoke billowed from vents around him. The eruption of the vents occurred in an eerie synchronicity with the snake's movements, almost like a rhythmic dance, though it was hard to tell if the snake was merely responding to the eruptions or controlling them himself.

The snake opened one eye and glared at the entrance. "I told you not to dissturb me during my meditation, you _blithering–"_ He blinked. "Master Scar! Pardon me, Your Highness. I mistook you for that insufferable honey badger."

"Oh, I quite sympathize," Scar said dryly. "Ushari, I want you to meet my nephew's son, Prince Kion, who has succeeded me as captain of the Lion Guard. Kion, meet Ushari, one of my most talented students."

"It iss my pleasure," said Ushari, bobbing his head.

Kion stared at him. "Hey – I remember you! You're that weird snake Bunga caught during patrol."

"He did not _catch_ me, he violently and unlawfully assailed my person – and I am a king cobra, you dunderhead!" He flinched, seeming to remember himself. "Forgive me, my prince. It's – it's these fumes, they lower one's inhibition. I fear they bring out my worst qualities."

"No worries," said Kion. "I get it. I felt my brain leaking out of my ears after talking to Bunga for just a minute back there. Normally I can hold out for like half a day before that happens."

"It's supposed to make me more acerbic," said Scar, "though I've frankly never noticed a difference." He shrugged. "Ushari here is a visitor from a distant land where snakes once ruled as kings. He will be aiding our mission as representative for the reptiles."

Ushari bobbed his head. "The lizards and skinks of this land look to me for relief of their plight. It is my hope that one day I may secure a future where my kind is treated as the equal of mammals."

"Their plight?" Kion frowned. "I don't think I ever noticed anything about us oppressing reptiles."

"Well of course you wouldn't have _noticed_ ," Ushari hissed. "It's hardly something you do on a conscious basis!" He stopped himself, squeezing his eyes shut. "Forgive me, it's these fumes… I have not mastered them yet."

"Let's leave him to it," said Scar. "We still have much to discuss."

They returned to the central cavern, where Jasiri and the other hyenas were still talking in hushed voices at the foot of the stone mound. Judging by how distraught she looked, their talk was not going well.

"She's dying, isn't she? Shenzi, I mean."

"We're all dying," said Scar. "All of us, all the time – but it does not have to be that way." He clambered up onto the central mound, jumping from one protruding rock to the next to reach the top. "Through gaining enlightenment, you gain control of yourself as well as the world around you, allowing you to tap into the connection that we share with the universe. _We are one_ , as my father would say – though at the time I had no idea it actually meant something." Kion scrambled up after him. When he arrived at the top he found that Scar was giving him an appraising look. "That same connection allows us to live on after death, as part of the world and the stars above us. Enlightenment could give us all eternal life."

"It wouldn't really be _life_ though," Kion said uncertainly. "The Spirit Kings give us wisdom when we need it, but if they really were alive like we were, I think they'd take a more active role in things."

Scar shrugged. "True, those old curmudgeons would never give up their rule if they had a choice in the matter, even if it meant setting hunting quotas through carefully directed bursts of starlight. Old Ahadi certainly had a good go at securing a second term during _my_ reign, for all the good it did him. Still, an eternity of dispensing wisdom to an adoring audience sounds far preferable to… not that." He examined Kion closely. "How about you, lad? Would you like to live forever?"

"I – I don't want to die right now," Kion said, not used to being questioned this way. "So I guess I probably won't want to die later, either, unless everyone around me still dies and I'm stuck up there all alone or something." A thought occurred to him. "Wait, can spirits talk to each other, or just to us?"

"We still don't know exactly what awaits us in the afterlife – that's a problem we soon hope to solve." Scar cast a meaningful look to the hyenas below. Jasiri appeared to have given up on arguing with her matriarch, and was now lying down in front of her, defeated. "Shenzi was my first student, but now we have many – each with the power to represent their own species here on earth, and then to guide them from the afterlife thereafter. Their wisdom will spread, until one day we achieve immortality for all."

"That'll never work," Kion said without thinking. He flinched as Scar's eyes bored into him. "I mean… if everybody has equal power it only makes it more tempting for them to fight each other, doesn't it? The whole reason lions have been in charge all this time is because it stops everyone from having to worry about war and infighting and stuff. People don't really want equality; they just want to be able to go their own way without having to live in fear and uncertainty all the time."

"I see you've been talking to your father," Scar said dryly. "I swear, that boy is trying to become a clone of Mufasa, with all his talk of _honour_ and _tradition_. Honestly, I thought I taught him better…"

Kion frowned. "What's wrong with honour and tradition? All our wisdom comes from our elders, like the wall paintings in the lair of the Lion Guard which the royal mjuzi used to record our history. Or the way the lessons from our past Kings is repeated in stories, passed down through the generations."

Scar snorted derisively. "Have you ever played a game of Whispers? Pass a message to your sister and have her repeat it to a friend, and keep it going in a circle until it comes back to you. See what remains of your original message." He swiped at some old bones that were lying around, sending them tumbling down the mound with a hollow clattering sound. "Behold: There lies your ancient wisdom."

Kion stared at the old lion, unnerved. It felt almost like he was talking to Jasiri again, the way his core beliefs were so casually mocked, except it was clear that Scar was much, much better at it. "I still don't think there's anything wrong with listening to your elders," he said carefully. "After all, _you_ are an elder, granduncle, and it seems to me that you much enjoy being listened to."

Scar grinned widely, baring his teeth in a vicious sneer. "Oh ho. Then it seems to me that you make a good show of listening to what you already wish to be true, my good and noble prince. ' _I ought to remain in charge because it is better for everyone if nothing changes.'_ Methinks your moral precepts are a tad too convenient for your own good, grandnephew."

He glared at him. "Yeah, well… maybe _you_ wouldn't have so much trouble with authority if you weren't so convinced that you're smarter than everyone else. Or are you saying that the best way to resolve a dispute is by violently murdering the person you disagree with, right in front of their only son?"

Kion flinched as soon as he said it, realizing he had gone too far. Scar froze, the sneer on his face twisting into a rictus grin. The old legend stepped closer, teeth bared, and Kion tumbled and fell backwards, landing on his back with his paws in the air. The stench of rotten meat was on Scar's breath, so very much like the smell of those dead wildebeests, and he felt a primordial terror steal his breath away.

 _Alert / Danger!_

The line to his stomach snapped taut, and the earth shuddered beneath him. All around them fumes roared up from the vents, and the hyenas scrambled away in a panic as magma suddenly spewed forth from the chasm behind them. Scar spun around, _roaring_ at the erupting vents and forcing the lava back down into the earth. Then he turned to face Kion, his green eyes boring into him with undisguised fury.

"Fool boy! You'd use that power down _here?_ Did you mean to kill yourself as well as the rest of us over a childish dispute? For someone who just called me out over my past misdeeds, you certainly seem eager to repeat them!"

 _Insolence / How dare he!_

Kion recoiled at the injustice of the accusation, feeling a sudden wrath not unlike the lava he had inadvertently summoned. "It's not like I did it on purpose. Maybe _you_ should know better than to corner the fiercest animal in the Pridelands… granduncle."

 _Good / Put him in his place_

Scar pulled back, staring at him mutely for a few seconds. Then his lips tugged into a dangerous smile. "You know," he said, "I think I just might be starting to _like_ you, boy. You have more brains than your grandfather at least, though I don't know who you could possibly have inherited that cheek from. Some of your mother's wilfulness perhaps, as well as your grandmother's smouldering ire…"

Kion clambered back to his feet, taking deep breaths in an attempt to regain his senses. _Challenging Scar the kingslayer, captain of the old guard and the most dangerous animal alive… what in the world was I thinking?_

"Come." Scar turned and headed up a nearby ridge, climbing ever higher until he reached a passage that seemed to lead back up to the surface. "We're going to need to teach you to control that power of yours. I don't know what Simba has been teaching you all this time, but it was clearly insufficient. Here."

Kion silently followed him up to the surface, and blinked against the sudden light. They had entered a small desert clearing, enclosed by a circular cliff that extended from either side of the cave's walls. The sun poured down from above and glistened off stone slabs that been scattered around the arena. Water trickled down from a crack in the cave's side, and steam hissed up from a chasm in the centre of it all.

Scar turned and smirked at him. "It's been a while since I faced another wielder of the Roar. What say you we have ourselves a spar, grandnephew? Show me what you can do!"


	7. Honesty

Scar was laughing.

Kion _roared_ with all his might, trying desperately to throw the old lion off his footing, but Scar simply blocked the onrushing gale by raising a wall of sand around him. Almost immediately the wall reformed into a sandstorm that scoured Kion as if to try and polish him like glass. He leaped to the side and began to dash in a circle around Scar, trying to use the sandstorm to move out of his line of sight.

"Good, use your youth to your advantage! If you dodge an attack instead of blocking it, it will open up an opportunity for a counter attack." Scar was lazily rising into the air upon a stone plateau that rose up from the earth, allowing him to comfortably look down on Kion without moving a single muscle.

Kion watched him reproachfully, panting to regain his breath. "How are you doing all of that without roaring?"

"How many times must I tell you, boy?" The old lion collapsed onto his side as though it was the conversation he found exhausting. "Power comes from awareness of your own self and your connection to other enlightened spirits. All of that roaring at the heavens is just… fluff."

As if to illustrate, a plume of smoke and burning embers erupted from the vent in the centre and threatened to engulf Kion. He reflexively _pulled_ on the water trickling behind him, breaking the wellspring open and dousing himself just as the burning smoke immersed him. By the time the smoke and steam cleared, Kion was dripping head to toe and smelled like he had just escaped a forest fire.

"Nicely done." Scar was lying on his back, still lounging on the stone plateau that seemed to obey his every command. "Of course, you don't actually need water to defend against fire – you could have just created a wall of earth or used wind to blow it back into my face instead of electing to drown yourself – but hey, each to his own."

Kion glowered at Scar. Water was dripping from his mane into his eyes, but he'd be damned if he gave the old lion the satisfaction of seeing him try to shake it off. "Yeah, well… you've been doing this for ages and I only just started. I think you just enjoy pushing me around because you know I'm not as strong as you."

Scar shot him a disdainful glance. "Haven't you listened to a word I said? Power comes from enlightenment, not from practice. I know a lioness who learned how to use her powers in just a few hours, and she's one of the strongest people I've ever met." He idly batted at one of the burning embers that floated in the air above him. Somehow, it evaded his paw only to circle around his head instead. "Your father only had Rafiki to teach him for a day at most, and he still managed to split Pride Rock in two. Then again, I suppose it did help that he was possessed by a vengeful god at the time."

"Okay," said Kion, forcing himself to stay calm. "So maybe I'm not as talented as you or as beloved by the Spirit Kings as my father, and I don't learn as quickly as your lioness friend. But then maybe it would be a good idea to actually _teach_ me something instead of just lying there and hitting me with stuff."

Scar yawned. "I told you; enlightenment comes from within. If you want to gain control of your powers, you need to learn to be honest with yourself, and come to terms with who you are and how you feel."

"Right," said Kion, "because you are such a beacon of wisdom and honesty. Granduncle, you lied to _everyone around you_ , all your life. No offense, but you're not exactly–"

The ground vanished beneath his paws, and Kion found himself choking on sand, coughing and spluttering as he clawed his way back up to the surface.

Scar idly waved a paw at him. "None taken. Also, don't let your guard down."

 _How dare he attack us / destroy that foul traitor!_

A burning light lit up within Kion, searing his flesh from the inside like a beast trying to claw its way free. He opened his mouth to scream but all he could hear was a violent ringing in his ears. Fire burst up in a plume while water spewed forth from the cliff and stones rose up all around them, and all of it hurled in the same direction, all at the same target. Kion could not see the result of the attack for he was lying on the ground and all he could see was sand, and all he could hear was the terrible sound of his own Roar.

Then there was a paw on his shoulder and suddenly the earth and the sky stopped moving, though the pain in his skin and the ringing in his ears remained. He looked up and saw that Scar was standing above him, showing none of his earlier calm. The right side on his face was singed, and Kion thought he could smell burning fur. He looked exactly as wretched as Kion had felt, just a moment earlier.

 _How ironic…_

As the world darkened around him, he dimly felt himself being pulled back down into the cavern.

* * *

"It's that mark on his shoulder," Shenzi opined. "It's giving those meddlesome Spirit Kings of yours power over him."

"It's just red paint," Scar said doubtfully. It was strange to hear Scar sound uncertain, Kion thought faintly. "It shouldn't make any difference. Enlightenment comes from the spirit, not some fruit."

"Shouldn't, but does," said Shenzi. "They burned that bloody powder into his body, just like they did with your boy Simba. We should remove it before the same thing happens as back then."

"We sshould cut it out," a strange voice hissed. "Suck out the poison before it iss too late..."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Scar. "Nobody's cutting anything out of anybody. The lad just needs to gain awareness of his own spirit, that's all. Then he'll be able to tell their thoughts from his own."

Kion lifted his head, staring faintly at the surroundings he found himself in. He was in one of the smaller chamber within the same cavern as before: The hyenas' den maybe, judging by the bones that lay scattered on the floor. "Granduncle? What…"

"He's awake." Scar motioned to the others. "Leave us."

Shenzi snorted. "You heard him, boys and girls: The lions need their alone time. Let's go."

Kion blinked, and looked around again. They were indeed in one of the smaller caverns, though not one he had seen before. The footsteps of the others were fading in the distance, leaving just him and Scar. In the darkness of the cave, his eyes were reduced to green slits.

"Shenzi might be right," Scar said. He seemed to mull the words over, not quite liking the taste of them. "That mark is letting those meddlesome Kings of the Past influence your actions, and not in a good way. Lad, you _must_ learn to control your emotions, or the consequences could be disastrous."

Kion stood up and shook his mane, trying vainly to clear the cobwebs in his head. "I thought you said that enlightenment comes from within."

"It does, but the paint of the red fruit lowers your inhibitions, and forces you to be more like your inner self which in turn increases your power." He indicated the crimson mark that Kion had received during his inauguration as Captain of the Guard. "Why did your father do that to you, anyway?"

"He said I needed to learn to master my power," Kion said. "He said that as the king's second son, the Roar would awaken within me, and so I needed to be prepared."

Scar snorted derisively. "Then he's an even bigger fool than I thought. There's nothing special about being the second child except that it gets you that mark and the training he gave you. In preparing you for your destiny, your father damned you to it." He shot an irate glance at a faint red light that seemed to be hovering around his head. "What? I know he didn't have anyone to teach him that, but that's hardly _my_ fault: He's the one who banished me, after all. Don't lecture me, woman."

Kion gave the old lion an uncertain look. "Granduncle? Who are you talking to?"

"Nobody." He ducked his head as the red dot swooped at him. "By which I mean _not a body_ , which is, strictly speaking, entirely accurate. Ow, quit that!"

"Granduncle, are you talking to that firefly?" That would be really impressive, if Scar had learned to talk to insects – and also really worrisome, since as far as Kion knew they were not intelligent. Of course, the old lion could also just be insane, but that was hardly reassuring.

"No, or rather, yes, in the sense that she's made of fire and can fly, but in terms of disposition I'd say she's more of a hornet – ow! Stop that." He swiped at the red dot, which instantly zipped out of reach before turning around and striking him again. "Ack! I _knew_ marrying a primordial force of pure rage and vindictiveness was a mistake."

"Uhm."

Scar was still having a wrestling match with the firefly – and _losing,_ somehow – when Bunga burst into the chamber. "Hey Kion! Looks like they finally found us: There's someone at the entrance who… oh hey, are you guys catching fireflies? Cool!"

"I've almost got her," said Scar, before being flipped onto his back. "Ow."

Kion almost leaped for the exit. "They're here? Is it Fuli and Ono? Are they all right?"

"I dunno," said Bunga. "I just heard that someone was here so I went to tell you." He leaped and snagged the red dot out of the air, and swallowed it in a single motion. "Huh, that wasn't so hard! Tastes a bit funny, though."

"Uh," said Scar, "we should probably leave before we find out in what _exact_ way this is about to get messy."

A spark of divine inspiration told Kion he was probably right. "Uh, yeah. Let's."

The two of them headed to the central chamber, ignoring the disturbing sounds that were emanating from the cave they just left. They were greeting by the sight of Jasiri and Shenzi, who were hunched over a vent in the ground that spewed red fumes. She seemed to be meditating on the fumes, just like Simba had taught Kion to do back when he first told him about the Roar.

"I asked her to stay and learn our techniques, so she can be a liaison to Shenzi in the afterlife once she's gone. Their connection should be strong enough for that, I think. Well, it was Shenzi's idea after all, and she should know best."

Kion felt a stab of pity as he looked at the hunched over hyenas. For all that Jasiri acted like she took nothing seriously, she did seem to genuinely care about her matriarch. Training to take her place even as the old hyena was dying could not have been an easy decision to make, much less an easy thing to do.

"We should leave them to it," said Scar. "Come."

Kion nodded and followed him to the exit. "I hope it's not Fuli waiting for us," he said lightly. "I smell like a drowned cat, and I'm pretty sure I look like one too. I doubt she'd ever let me live it down." That managed to get a chuckle out of Scar, though it sounded a bit forced.

He took a deep breath. "Hey, granduncle. You should come back to the Pridelands with me."

"I can't. I was banished, remember? For pretty good reason, too."

"Yeah," said Kion, "about that. Look, granduncle Scar, I don't think…" He stopped, considering his words. "Listen, we both know why you were banished, and of course nobody forgot about that – don't get me wrong. I still remember how scared I was of you even as a young cub, and if I maybe thought father's stories made you seem a little cool too, well, it's not like I ever said so to mum and dad." There was a small tug on Scar's lips. "But then, there's also the way he kept saying that I should make sure not to follow in your pawprints…" He put on as deep a voice as he could manage. _"Son, make sure never to become as cool and dangerous a lion as Scar. The world's not big enough for two scoundrels of that magnitude."_

Scar laughed again, more heartily this time.

"Plus, I think I overheard grandma giving girl talk to Kiara, warning her about handsome, smooth talking rogues who will steal your heart only to abandon you in the end."

Scar raised an eyebrow. "Oh, she did, did she?"

"Yeah." He stopped at the exit, blinking against the sudden sunlight that was now pouring in. "Granduncle, I think they miss you. I think they really, really miss you. You should come back."

"I can't." Scar looked away, seeming somehow older than before. "After everything I did, I can't…" He shook his head. "Look, I'll think about it, all right? I'll think about it. But I'm telling you right now that if I ever see those two again, it won't go the way you think. It, ah, it wouldn't be pretty."

"It doesn't have to be," Kion said. "I just think it would be better than all this pretending, you know?" After a moment's hesitation he decided to leave it at that, and the two of them silently headed out of the cave and into the desert, where they were greeted by…

Kion blinked. "Zazu?"

The blue-feathered bird was perched on a small stone near the entrance of the cave, giving Kion a rather unimpressed look. "No need to act so shocked, young master. After all, I did say that if anything unfortunate were to happen to you, there was no sense in guessing who would be sent to fly after you." He inclined his head slightly to Scar, who was still lurking in the shadows near the entrance. "Sire."

"Zazu."

Kion looked from one to the other, staring first at the red-beaked hornbill and then at the aging lion, neither of whom seemed at all surprised to see each other.

"You knew," he said, feeling a by now familiar ire rising up in his throat. "You knew, all this time."

"Of course I knew," said Zazu, managing to sound neutral with only the slightest touch of condescension. "I am His Majesty's majordomo. It is my duty to know everything that goes on in the Pridelands – or beyond, where former kings and citizens are concerned."

"Zazu was my first student and companion," Scar explained. "He joined our endeavour before even Shenzi. He hasn't had time to teach others like she did, but in acting as a liaison towards other parties he has been extremely helpful. You could say that he is my _keenest of sight_ , in this new ensemble of mine."

"Or alternatively," said Zazu, "you could not call me that."

"But, then, does that mean my father…" Kion shook his head in frustration, spraying water droplets in the process. "Never mind, I don't care anymore. What happened to Fuli and Ono? Where are they? Are they all right?"

"Your companions are fine," said Zazu. "I ordered young Ono to fly after Janja to try and find their hideout. Your cheetah wanted to come with me, but she was injured by a stray rock – no, she's not in any danger. I ordered her back to Pride Rock, which is where you'll find her." He beckoned Kion along. "Shall we?"

Kion glanced back to Scar, who was still sitting dispassionately in the shadow of the cave. He wanted to ask him to pass a message to the others, but Zazu had already taken off and he had to hurry to catch up. It was not as if there had been much left to say, anyway.

"Hey Zazu, wait up!" The blue-feathered bird slowed slightly, drifting on the current without moving his wings, flying low enough that Kion could look at him without craning his neck. "Zazu, my father ordered you to follow us into the Outlands to make sure we didn't get into any trouble, didn't he? Does that mean it was you who accidentally knocked down that rock at the start of the ravine?"

Zazu glanced back at him. "No. Your father instructed me to make sure I wouldn't be seen by you, and staying out of Ono's sight range proved to be… quite the task. I fear that in my attempts at subterfuge I almost missed the hyenas' attack until I heard your roar."

"I see," said Kion, though he did not say anything else. He focussed on running to keep up with Zazu, traveling through the desert at speed to get back to Pride Rock as soon as he could. In the back of his mind, a dark suspicion was forming, but for now it was nothing that could be articulated in words.


	8. Trust in God, or the Riddle of Kion

_"_ _Bravery needs no reason!"_

* * *

It was already evening by the time they made it back to Pride Rock. It always seemed to be, somehow, no matter how fast or slow he travelled. There was something about that grim, foreboding rock that heralded in the night as if by magic. One day he would try approaching it from the rear, just to see if the lush greenery on its gentler slope would herald in the day instead.

"There you are, young master, safe and sound. You might have taken a bit more of a circuitous route, but your mission has been accomplished all the same. I dare say His Majesty shouldn't have any cause for complaint… assuming I can convince him to see things that way."

Kion turned to his avian companion. "Aren't you coming inside with me, Zazu?"

"I'll be reporting to the king directly," Zazu said. "He'll, ah, be wanting to know the details of what happened now that you have returned. You may do the same once you've checked on your companions."

"Right," said Kion, unsure if he had just been given an order or not. As he watched Zazu fly off he hesitated, before deciding to head towards the main entrance. He found three figures waiting for him at the top of the entryway.

"Hi Kion, welcome back!" The lead of the young lionesses grinned at him. "You got us pretty worried there for a second, little brother. What happened to your forehead?"

"Hi Kiara." The two girls beside here giggled at the sight of him. Did he really look that bedraggled? "I'm fine; I just got hit by some rocks, that's all. Where's Ono and Fuli?"

"Ono just got back, he's reporting to father right now. Fuli's down in your 'secret lair', waiting for you. She looked like you got her _really_ worried."

More giggling.

"…right. Thanks." Kion shook his head and headed towards the entrance of his lair, ignoring the decidedly un-princesslike chortles that grew ever louder behind him. _Girls._

He found Fuli where they had said she would be, lying on top of her favourite overhanging rock in the den, her tail beating the ground with nervous energy. She jumped up at the sight of him. "Kion. Where have you been? What happened to you?" Her eyes widened. "You're hurt!"

"I'm fine, it's just a little cut: Head wounds always look worse than they really are." He realized she was limping as she walked up to him. "Fuli, your paw…"

"Never mind that! Kion, where did you _go?_ When you roared there was a whirlwind that blew the rocks and the hyenas away, and then, then you just weren't _there_ anymore. Me and Ono looked everywhere before Zazu showed up and sent me back here. I never should have listened to that bloody bird…"

He held up a paw. "Fuli, it's fine. I encountered some friends in the desert, and uh… actually, I should probably clear it with my father before I tell you anything else. It's pretty secret stuff."

"Friends in the desert." She eyed him suspiciously. "Kion, you got blown away by a _hurricane._ You can't just… oh, never mind. Have you eaten at least? You look like you haven't had a decent meal in _years."_

"I ate some insects on the way here," he protested. "Plus, Jasiri offered me some bones to chew on." Which he had not accepted. His stomach growled in anger.

"Insects? Bones? Kion, you're a _lion!_ You can't survive on such things. You need meat." She jumped up and dragged something from behind the rock she had been lying on, pulling it across the ground with her teeth. It was a small flat stone filled with slices of red meat. "Here. I minced it for you so it should be unrecognizable. Eat."

Kion stared at the dish, his mouth watering even as his stomach rebelled against him. It must have taken her ages to slice the meat in such tiny pieces with her claws. "Fuli, I don't-"

 _"_ _Eat."_

He bent over the meal, the sweet smell of it making his eyes water even as his brain flashed images of dead wildebeests before his eyes. These were not wildebeests however. This was no longer any animal. This was just meat.

He took a bite, and then another, and another. The raw flesh tasted like succulent murder. Sweet innocence ran from his teeth and dripped onto his fur, staining it crimson.

He lifted his head, the meat having vanished in what seemed like far too short a time. She leaned towards him, and licked his fur where the blood had marred him.

"Thank you," he murmured. He felt strange.

She turned away, abashed. "You worried me."

"Sorry."

She glanced at him, more furtively than before. "What happened out there, Kion?"

He sighed. "I… I found Jasiri, in the desert. She was blown away by the wind I guess, but not too far from me, and she wasn't badly hurt either." They had been pretty lucky, all things considered. Then again, luck might not have played a role in it at all. "We talked and I guess we got into an argument after a while. She said…" He hesitated, remembering their discussion. "Fuli, do you think I'm spoiled?"

"What?"

"That's what she said. Well, not literally, but it's pretty clear what she meant. Anyway, she's not the only one to say that. She and Kiara and, uh, some other people I met, they all say I talk too much about being a prince and being Captain of the Guard, and I guess it makes me sound arrogant or something."

"Kion, you _are_ a prince. And you're the most humble person I know."

"Thanks," he mumbled, though he avoided her gaze. "But, I guess maybe even if you are a prince it's still possible to make it sound like you think you're special or something. And maybe there's a way in which acting too humble can also seem like a kind of arrogance, somehow."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Kion, you _are_ special. You were literally chosen from birth to wield the power of the gods! Who cares what some backwards primitive has to say about it? Do you think that if it were the other way around, she would hesitate for even one second to lord it over you?"

"Maybe not," he said. "It's just… what if I don't really deserve any of it? I mean, I didn't _choose_ to be the king's son. I never chose to learn the power of the Roar. All of that is just stuff that… happened."

"What's it matter what you choose? What's that got to do with anything? I never chose to be a cheetah but here I am, and I wouldn't wish it any other way! Are you telling me I should feel guilty just because I am strong and fast, while snakes are born without limbs? That's utter nonsense: You can't be born as anyone _but_ as yourself, by definition! You are who you are and that's all there is to it."

"Yeah," he said, uncertainly. "Yeah, you're right, Fuli. Thanks."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't mention it. Now get going: You worried your family just as much as me."

"Right," he said. "I'm going then, I guess." He hurried up the tunnel leading towards the royal den, leaving before he could say anything that would make her any more annoyed with him than she already was.

 _Girls…_

He entered the great cavern, and found his family lying in wait for him on the royal dais. His mother smiled warmly at him, despite the concern that lined her face. "I'm glad to see you're back home safely, Kion. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine mum, thanks. Don't worry about my forehead, it's just a scratch."

His grandmother arched an eyebrow at him. "You look in dire need of a bath."

"I got blown away by a hurricane," he protested. "And I'm too old to be given baths, grandmother."

Kiara and the other girls giggled. "I think Fuli already took care of that one, grandmother. He seems much cleaner than before."

Kion felt himself flush crimson under his family's stares. _Girls! A pox on them and all they cherish!_

Simba scraped his throat, seeming just as embarrassed. "Son, it's indeed good that you're home. Zazu told us what happened. Could I… could I speak with you alone, for a moment?"

Kion nodded, eager for any excuse to depart from the female realm. He followed his father to a dark alcove in a corner of the cave, out of hearing range of the others – though the girls' incessant giggling probably would have prevented them from making anything out anyway.

"Son, you ah…" Simba stopped. "I realize this issue is not of the most _immediate_ importance, all things considered, but you do know that lions and cheetahs are not compatible, don't you?"

Kion felt himself flush once more. "Dad, that's not… I mean, we're not… Kiara's just…"

The king held up his paw. "Look son, I try to be understanding, I really do. You wanted animals other than lions in the lion guard, and I relented because the times are changing and we all have to adapt. But I have to draw the line here: Lions and cheetahs cannot have cubs! That's just a fact of nature."

"Well, what if I don't _want_ cubs?" The words spilled out before he knew what he was saying. Somehow, his father telling him he was not allowed to do something seemed incredibly effective at achieving the opposite. "Who cares if I have cubs, anyway? I'm just the second child! Kiara is going to be the queen and her cubs will be next in line after that, so I should be allowed to do whatever I want!"

"It's unnatural! Lions can only be with other lions – that's just the way of things!"

"Actually," said Ono, "Lions can have cubs with tigers and leopards, if they so choose. Common knowledge, really."

Kion jumped on the spot. "Ono? _What are you doing here?"_

Ono shrank back within his spot between the stalactites, becoming almost invisible. "I uh, I was just about to give my report to the king, about finding Janja's hideout? But then I saw you enter and I thought, hey, I might as well just take a quick nap while you guys catch up, and uh, then you came over here and it seemed awkward to say anything…"

"But – why are you even giving reports to my father in the first place? Ono, you work for _me._ I'm your captain!"

Simba raised his paw placatingly. "Son, I needed to know what was going on while you were missing. You can't fault Ono for following his king's command."

Kion rounded on him. "You needed to know? You ordered Zazu to spy on me! And you – you were in contact with Scar this entire time, weren't you?" He spun back to face Ono, who shrank back even further. "And _you_ knew it too. You've been giving reports to Zazu the whole time, at my father's behest!"

Ono opened his beak to speak, but no words came out.

Simba stepped in. "Son, I just wanted to make sure you were safe! These are major secrets we're discussing, which almost nobody else knows about. I banished Scar myself after all, at your grandmother's behest!" His voice dropped to a whisper. "If she were to find out that I'm still in touch with him…"

Kion laughed bitterly. "You know, all this time, I actually thought you trusted me; that you took me a little bit more seriously than you do Kiara. Fuli even said how crazy it was that you let us go to the Outlands all by ourselves. I guess that was the moment when I should have realized something was up."

Simba frowned. "Kiara? You think I won't let your sister go anywhere alone because I don't trust her? Kion, she's the heir to the throne! I already afford you far more freedom than her for just that reason."

Ono raised a wing. "Can I just say…"

 _"_ _What are you still doing here? Get out!"_

The egret gave Simba a pleading look, and the king sighed in reply. "You're excused, Ono."

The bird flew off as though his life depended on it, which it very well might have, as Kion was sorely tempted to give him a swipe in passing. He would have called a few choice words after him, except he was afraid it would have come out as a roar instead, and doing so might have devastated his own home.

The king scraped his throat once more. "Let's continue this discussion outside. We're drawing looks."

"Oh yes," said Kion. "We wouldn't want _grandma_ to find out about your schemes. That would be terrible."

As he followed his father outside, the fresh evening wind helped a little to cool his temper. That, as well as the general air of solitude around the place, which filled him almost with a sense of reverence. Pride Rock had that effect on people.

"Dad, Ono said he scouted Janja's hideout. You're planning to send a force against him, aren't you?" The king nodded. "Who?"

"I was planning to send Zazu to lead the expedition," Simba said carefully. "He would take Scar's students with him – they're familiar with the Outlands, and they're the most powerful fighters we have. Plus, it would give them the chance to display their abilities in the field."

Kion nodded. "Dad, listen. I get what you're saying, I really do. I mean, _of course_ you want to make sure I'm safe. I'm your son. The fact that you even let me go to the Outlands at all shows that you do trust me. And I've always loved you for that."

"Kion…"

"I just wish that you would have _told_ me. You could have made it clear from the start that Zazu would be following us in case anything went wrong, and maybe I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have _respected_ it. And you could have just asked me to give you reports, instead of going behind my back and using my own friends against me. That just makes it look like you don't trust me at all."

"I do trust you," Simba said. "It's just…"

"Good. Then you'll be glad to hear that I'm joining the expedition." He continued before his father could object. "You said you wanted to use your strongest fighters, right? Well, I'm your strongest fighter. Plus I've been to the Outlands, and I've faced Janja before. Dad, if it turns out they don't need me, then I won't be in any danger either. But if something does go wrong, then you'll want someone you trust to be there with them." He paused. "Unless of course you trust _Zazu_ to do what's right no matter what?"

Simba smiled wryly. "I suppose I couldn't make that claim with a straight face." He walked up to the tip of the overhanging rock that was used for ceremonies, allowing the presenter to overlook the crowd below. Simba did not look down however, but stared up, gazing at the stars. "What do you think, Mufasa? Should I trust my son to join tomorrow's expedition? Will a greater calamity befall us if I do, or if I don't?" He sighed. "Do you even know, or are you just as blind up there as I am down here?"

He laughed softly. It was a sad and painful sound.

Kion looked up at the sky along with his father, staring as though he could will the stars to answer. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine seeing the Constellation of the Lion move around, dancing and laughing and swiping at the other stars as though they were fireflies.

 _Grandfather? I know my father trusts me, but he needs someone he can look up to. Granduncle Scar doesn't dare come back here after what he did, and grandmother is still angry with him even though it was so long ago. I guess what I'm saying is, it would be nice if you could say something to him in reply…_

There was a tug in Kion's chest, and he felt the faintest connection fall into place. He opened his eyes, and as he looked up at the stars he felt a sense of vertigo. The lands around him vanished as the scars streamed down like rain, and in the centre of it all the constellation of the lion shone brightly.

 _"_ _Simba,"_ a voice intoned. _"My son. I cannot… there is so much I want to say, but my power is waning. I must hold him back. I cannot… I cannot hold on any longer. He is coming."_

Kion froze. His imagination was becoming reality before his eyes: He was listening in on his father's vision, and what was more, it sounded like a _warning_ of sorts. His heart pounded in his chest as the stars shimmered and shifted, fading and circling around him like a swirling sea that was pulling him under.

 _"_ _Simba, my son… you have forgotten me. Remember…"_ The stars flickered, and Kion strained to hold on to the faint pull in his chest. _"Remember… he is coming. I cannot hold on. Remember… who you are…"_

Kion blinked, and the vision was gone. The stars were back in their rightful place, and the land around him was solid once more. The evening wind blew softly.

"That… that was unbelievable. Dad, you got a vision! An actual vision from Mufasa! I mean, it was really confusing, but dad, you finally did it! You finally got grandpa to talk to you! Aren't you happy?"

"Kion?" Simba looked at him, the clear surprise doing little to hide the deep lines of sadness etched onto his features. "You're saying you got a vision from Mufasa? What… what did he say?"


	9. Punitive Actions

_"I think badness is pretty much guaranteed at this point."_

* * *

Kion felt a distinct sense of déjà vu as he found himself standing once more at the sandy riverbank that marked the border to the Outlands, though this time their goal was entirely different. The mood was different too, as could be seen on each of the four faces accompanying Kion, each so much less familiar than the companions he had before.

Well, except Bunga, of course. Bunga just looked like Bunga.

"Don't you guys have any of your own troops to send?" Jasiri looked more amused than worried. "You know, like actual lions?" She smirked. "Or is Kion the only one willing to fight his own battles?"

"This is a secret operation," Zazu said before Kion could rise to the bait. "While I assure you that queen Nala's huntresses are perfectly up to the task of dealing with some mangy hyenas, Miss Jasiri, we cannot risk the secret of our existence getting out prematurely."

Jasiri's eyebrows rose. "Miss Jasiri, the mangy hyena. I like that."

Bunga grinned. "Don't worry, Zaz! My lips are sealed. Scar threatened me _and_ my family with painful deaths twice over, just to make sure."

"Yes, well, you may add in another threat from me, just to make sure." Zazu turned to Kion. "That goes for you too, young master – minus the death threat, that is. You might have convinced your father to join us as Captain of the Guard, but I am still the one leading this expedition. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," said Kion, still feeling somewhat bitter about the majordomo going behind his back. It was probably for the best that Ono was not here, for that same reason. Fuli would certainly have tried to go with them as well despite her injury, had she known. Such were the benefits of secrecy, he supposed.

"Good," said Zazu. "Then let's begin. Ushari?"

The red snake hissed in agreement, and slithered towards the creepy-looking skinks that had gathered before him. "Go," he said. "Scout out the path ahead, and warn us in case of any ambush."

The lead of the brightly coloured skinks flicked out her tongue, tasting the air. "This had better be worth it, Ushari. My skinks aren't known to do their work for free."

"It is for the betterment of both our species," Ushari hissed. "Stop thinking in the short term and consider the situation: By doing this thing, we reptiles shall finally prove our worth to the Pridelands."

"Hm, if you say so." The skinks scuttled away, disappearing in five different directions with surprising speed.

Jasiri stared after them. "You have some mighty strange friends there, Ushari."

"Ushari has contacts with all the reptiles in the Pridelands," said Zazu. "You could say he's the spymaster in our group. In any case, I will also be scouting the area from above, just to make certain."

Bunga waved at him as he flew off. "Okay, mister flappiest of flight!"

 _"Do not call me that!"_

Kion and the others set off, crossing the river that separated their borders and moving at a calm but steady pace. It did not take long for the wet sand on his paws to dry up under the blazing sun.

He let out a long sigh. "Well Bunga, you finally got that punitive action you asked for. I never would have thought that we'd actually be doing this, one day…"

Bunga gave him a blank look. "Punitive what now? I thought we were just gonna kick some hyena tail."

"No, a punitive action means – that's what you originally suggested we…" he stopped. "Bunga, we're here because of the wildebeests Janja and his gang killed during our patrol, and because they attacked us – don't you remember?" He stopped himself, seeing Bunga's blank expression. "Never mind, I don't care anymore. It's too early in the morning for a conversation this stupid."

"Suits me," said Bunga, grinning once more. "Bravery needs no reason!"

Kion ignored him, and picked up speed to join the others.

"Hey uh, Jasiri," he said. "I was a bit surprised to see you here today. Are you going to be okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you fret your head about me, highness. I might not have as much training with the Roar as you, but I can handle myself. Besides, you guys would get totally lost in the Outlands without me. You know – like that time when you thought you were going back to your friends and you were actually moving in the opposite direction and it turned out I was right all along." She smirked.

"Yeah, uh, that's not what I meant. Look, Jasiri, you've had enough training to know that enlightenment is all about being honest with your feelings. I mean, Scar said so about a hundred times while I was there. So, are you really going to be okay with us fighting Janja and… doing what needs to be done?"

She gave him a long look, and snorted. "Janja's an idiot. Shenzi was going to make me and him the new leaders of the Outlands, but he left just because he couldn't handle the fact that I'm bigger and stronger and everyone liked me better than him. Since then, he's been killing all the prey animals and leaving them to rot just to spite us, even attacked my friends and family…" She looked away. "I don't feel anything for him anymore except pity."

Kion rather doubted that, but he decided not to press the issue. "So how does that work, anyway? Are hyenas always led by females?"

"Pretty much. Males are weak, cowardly creatures whose natural role is to be led by others." She held up a paw, seeing his expression. "I'm not talking about _you._ With lions it's the other way around, isn't it? So you're basically like a female hyena from where I'm standing, if a bit of a masculine one."

"Uh."

"Not _that_ masculine, just a little bit," she assured him. "Like how you're not very big and muscled and you like to talk instead of just beating people up. But look, I'm sure you're female where it counts."

"Oookay," he said. He took a deep breath, and turned his hopes to his third companion. "So hey, Ushari. I don't know much about you. What made you decide to become one of Scar's students?"

"I already told you once," he hissed. "It is to secure equality for my kind. In my homeland, crocodiles were once considered holy, snakes were held to be sacred and we cobras ruled them all as kings. Alas, our kingdom has fallen, and now we must slither through the dust, forced to live off whatever scraps your blessed Kings allow us." He stopped, remembering himself. "Meaning no offence, my prince."

"But you're allowed in the Pridelands just like everyone else," said Kion. "I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just trying to understand."

"Yes, we're _allowed_ to be here," Ushari said, "just as you _allow_ us to eat enough to survive. But what if tomorrow you choose otherwise? What if the king trips over a snake one day, and decides in his wroth that we all ought to move to the Outlands where we'd be safely out of the way?"

"My father wouldn't do that though," said Kion. "Everyone always says he's a fair ruler."

"Of course they say that; they'd be fools to say otherwise! But let us say that you are right: Through a stroke of purest fortune, the king is as fair and just as any animal could ask for. Imagine yourself in my situation – imagine living in the knowledge that your life could be declared forfeit at any moment, with no need for a reason or excuse. You and all your kind could be damned and no one would dare voice any objection. Would this situation be tolerable to you?" His black eyes gleamed as he studied Kion, his tongue flicking in and out as he tasted the air. "You require more than just food to live, my prince."

"Right," said Kion, an odd sense of apprehension falling over him – or perhaps that was just the shadow of the mountains that loomed up around them. "Your lizard friends didn't seem to think so, though."

"They're called skinks," Ushari said, "and they're just having difficulty taking a broader perspective. After all these years of living in servitude, they have forgotten about…" He swayed his body in what Kion guessed was the snake equivalent of shaking his head. "No matter. They will see, in time."

"Right," Kion said again, more slowly this time. He was not at all convinced that this strange snake was being entirely honest with himself, either. In fact, looking at his companions, it rather seemed to him that enlightenment required a deep capacity for self-delusion – which, considering his own abilities, was a rather worrisome thought. He did not _feel_ delusional, but that hardly proved anything, and he had been called out on his opinions by others in the past.

Then again, Fuli would probably tell him to stop being stupid, and _she_ had no divine talent at all.

"So, Zazu," he said, craning his neck to address the last of his companions and the last of his hopes for a sane conversation. "What made you decide to learn enlightenment?"

Zazu kept flying up above them, drifting on the current with only the occasional flap of his wings. "Dying last."

Kion maintained his gaze. "Dying… last."

"Yes, it's an old childhood dream of mine: Ever since I was a little fledgling, I was told by my mother that my role in life was to serve my betters. I remember thinking that if I was to serve regardless, I would at least work for the most powerful animal in the Pridelands. That's why I sought out your grandfather, Mufasa, and begged him to let me be his servant even before he was king. And I would have contented myself with that, if not for your granduncle."

"Scar," Kion said, realizing. "You were there when he took over, and you stayed with him even after it became clear that he killed my grandfather." He was not sure how he felt about that. Then again, even Simba had come to forgive him for that eventually, and they were all working together now regardless.

"Yes. Your granduncle showed me how the act of gaining enlightenment allows one to live on as a spirit after death. I had always lived with the knowledge that I could never be a the top of the foodchain, but then I found myself thinking that if I could just outlive all the predators then that was _almost_ the same thing. And so my new goal became to straddle the corpse of the earth after all mortal life whisks out, and eat it."

Ushari flicked his tongue, the only sound to fill the silence that followed. "Zazu… that's mad."

"And impossible," said Jasiri. "Zazu, you can't eat the world, you're not even a carrion bird."

"Oh, we're all carrion eaters in our own way," Zazu said amusedly. "Death pays for life just as life pays for death: That's what the Circle of Life is all about."

Kion resisted the urge to slowly retreat to a safe distance. _I don't care if imaginary Fuli thinks I'm being stupid,_ he thought to himself. _I definitely need to start worrying if I'm just as crazy as these people._

They travelled in uncomfortable silence after that – except for Bunga of course, who had never stopped talking and did not seem to notice the change in mood – until at last the looming mountains rose up before them. The stony area looked just as bleak and desolate as the ravine where Jasiri lived, though Kion suspected there would be no lush oasis with playing children at the end of this particular road.

"There they are," said Ushari. Kion almost jumped as he realized the skinks were surrounding them once more. "My scouts inform me that the hyenas are inside the cave next to the volcano."

Bunga's eyes gleamed excitedly. "Janja has a secret lair inside of a volcano?"

"Not _inside_ it," Ushari hissed. "Next to it. Learn to listen, you insufferable irritant."

"Nah, I heard you; I just interpreted it in a more fun way. It's a little something I call _enhanced reality_."

"It's called being a delusional, dim-witted dullard, you boisterous buffoon!"

Kion ignored them. He gazed into the mouth of the cavern, which drank up sunlight like a tar pit. "It's dangerous to use the Roar inside a cave like that, especially so close to a sleeping volcano," he said, remembering his incident with Scar. "I don't like it."

"You are not required to like it," said Zazu. "Both Ono and Ushari have confirmed that this is the enemy hideout, and so this is where we need to be. Nevertheless, I agree with your tactical assessment." He swooped down and landed in front of the skinks. "Shupavu, are all of Janja's hyenas accounted for?"

The lead of the brightly-coloured skinks flicked its purple tongue out. "Don't question the abilities of my skinks, birdbrain. There are nine hyenas resting in the central chamber – no more, no less."

"We could camp outside if you fear an ambush," Ushari said, turning away from Bunga. "We could lay in wait – prepare an ambush of our own for when they come out."

Jasiri rolled her eyes. "And then they catch one glimpse of us and leave through the back exit. Come on guys, are you seriously afraid of _Janja?_ I could probably take them all out myself, even without my new abilities."

"Little Miss Bloodlust has a point," Ushari said. "We are five enlightenment animals with mastery over the elements. Together we possess a greater power than any the Pridelands has ever seen before. If we are not capable of rising up to this challenge, then what have all our studies been for?"

Zazu took one more look at the foreboding entrance, and sighed. "I suppose it would not do to come back to Lord Scar with empty talons – he has most likely already devised several of what he imagines to be terribly clever witticisms to mock us for just such an eventuality. Very well then; but let it be stated for the record that we are acting against my better judgment."

The five of them headed towards the black cave entrance, walking slowly, ever so careful not to make a sound. The five skinks stayed hidden amongst the rocks behind them. _I never agreed to this,_ Kion thought to himself. But then, he was not the leader. He was not required to agree.

His paws trembled ever so slightly as he stepped into the cave. He wondered if he could actually go through with this – if he could actually _kill_ Janja. The image of dead wildebeests flashed before his eyes, and his stomach churned in response.

 _Use the Roar from a distance. Limit our power but make sure to destroy them before they can react._ That was the plan, even if Zazu had not said it out loud. The advice of Fuli and his mother came back to him once again, echoing in his head: _"You sneak up on them from behind. You pounce and kill them before they have a chance to scream. And whatever you do, you don't let them talk."_

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out nine figures resting in the centre of the cave. After a second, he realized in shock that Janja was looking right at them. He did not seem surprised.

"So, the Lion Guard finally comes for me, huh? Guess it was only a matter of time." The young hyena squinted. "Wait, you guys are not the same as before. Kion? Who the hell are you hanging out with?"

It was not an ambush. It was not a trap. They were just going to slaughter these defenceless hyenas while they were resting in their own home. Kion's stomach heaved. This was wrong. This was all _wrong_.

"On my command," said Zazu, raising a wing. "Ready…"

"Jasiri?" Janja stood up, fear finally creeping into his voice. All around him his comrades were waking up, alarmed. "What the hell are you doing here? What's going on?"

Jasiri said nothing.

 _"Now,"_ said Zazu. He slashed his wing downwards, and the world trembled. The cave groaned as stalactites cracked and rained down like broken fangs, impaling the earth. At the same time an unnatural wind crashed into them from behind, hurling Kion headlong into a wall that had not been there moments before.

He looked up, dazed, strange shapes moving in front of his pained eyes. In the entrance of the cave, which now seemed larger than before, two blurry outlines entered, and the walls of the cavern rang with their mocking, hysterical laughter. In their centre was a third figure who was not laughing at all.

"Sorry," said Shenzi, "but I can't let you kill my son."


	10. Naivety

"Shenzi?" It wasn't a rhetorical question – Kion was genuinely unable to make out the blurred shapes enough to be sure it was her. But then, he supposed it was unlikely to be Janja's _father._

"Sorry," she said again. "I honestly didn't know for sure what I was gonna do until right at the very end. But I guess I can't let you kill my son after all."

The two shadows flanking her giggled hysterically, their hideous laughter rolling through the cave.

"Young master," Zazu said, as he picked himself up off the ground, "why don't you go after Janja and the others? We will care of matters here."

Kion glanced backwards. Jasiri was already vanishing down the tunnel in the back of the cave, chasing after Janja and his gang. "But…"

"Don't be a fool," said Ushari. His tongue flicked rapidly in and out of his mouth, tasting the danger before him. "The hyenas have clearly betrayed us, my prince. You must chase after Jasiri before she escapes and trains the others to create an army of empowered hyenas. The three of us shall deal with Shenzi."

"I don't-"

"Young master, remember what I told you before." Zazu's eyes did not leave Shenzi as he spoke. "If you ever were to end up down some hyenas' throat, it would be my duty to fly in after you. Your father ordered me to keep you safe, and for that reason I'm ordering you to go. You agreed to follow my commands, remember?"

"Don't worry," Bunga said, a feral grin spreading across his face. "We've got this, Kion. It's three against three, and one of those three is me, so we've got them outnumbered!"

"…right," said Kion. He chanced one more glance towards the enemy, and then he ran. Even through his blurry vision, he could tell that Shenzi was staring after him with half-lidded eyes – though she seemed content to let him leave and even the odds.

Kion was not even halfway through the tunnel before the air exploded behind him. The sudden force nearly bowled him over, but he kept going, kept moving ever further down into the tunnel. He could smell the enemy's trail leeding deep into the darkness. Janja had gone down here, and so had Jasiri.

He squeezed himself through the ever-tightening passage, wondering dimly if his nose had misled him after all, but then he popped through the opening and tumbled into a large chamber. The smell of hyena was still strong, but there was another scent that now permeated it. Sulphur. The volcano was close.

 _"…shouldn't have come here…"_

Kion chased the source of the echoing sound, his heart beating quickly as he half-stumbled through the darkness. Ushari's words ran through his head. _The hyenas have betrayed us._ Had he been naïve?

 _"…the matter, Janja? Already had enough?"_

In the centre of the chamber, a single silhouette was circled by a dozen smaller shadows, though in the darkness of the cave they all seemed to blend together. There was a sudden flash of blue fire as one of the volcanic vents in the ground erupted, basking the cave in an eerie light and casting a thousand shadows. In that split second, the smaller figures all pounced on the larger one, pinning her down.

"Enough," said Janja, his outline clearly visible in the unnatural blue light. "It was stupid of you to come here, Jasiri. What were you thinking? Did you really believe you could just walk in here and-"

"Uh, Janja," said a particularly mangy looking hyena, "I don't think we're alone anymore."

They all turned to look at Kion, some of them visibly paling even in the dim light of the smouldering vent. Jasiri took advantage of the distraction to throw Janja off her, and immediately swiped at one of the other hyenas, who jumped back with a yelp.

"Oh Kion," she said. "Funny running into you down here."

"Jasiri, what's going on?" He stared at her uncertainly. She was fighting Janja, but… she was not _fighting_ him. "Why did Shenzi attack us just now? Did you… did you know she was going to do that?"

"Little busy right now," she grunted, as she shook off two other hyenas who tried to pounce on her. Seeing her throw them around like that, he could see what she meant about male hyenas being smaller and weaker. Holding them all off did not seem to take her much effort at all.

"Don't butt in," Janja growled. "This is between me and Jasiri. I'll deal with you later, Kion."

Kion stared at them, his jaw clenching and unclenching at the realization of what he was seeing. "You're not really trying to kill each other," he said at last. "You're just… playing around."

"That's not fair," she grunted as she head-butted another drooling hyena. "I'm _trying_ to murder him, but his minions keep getting in the way. They're being really difficult about this."

"No you're not," Kion said. "You're just taking turns to swipe at each other. And Janja is not trying to kill you either!" He strode towards Janja, who took a hurried step backwards at the sight of his expression. "I cannot believe this: We were all just getting ready to _kill_ Janja and his clan, and now it turns out that you were just-" He swept his paw around, lost for words. "You were having some kind of _lover's tiff?"_

"What? No!" Janja looked somewhere between horrified and disgusted. "I mean sure, we were together at some point, and yeah that was pretty fun for a while, but she _insisted_ on acting like she's better than me just because she's a girl and I'm not, and so now we're deadly enemies!"

Jasiri laughed scornfully. "Hah, yeah, more like you took your little boy band and ran off with your tail between your legs 'cause you couldn't accept that I was stronger and braver than you. You're so used to being treated like you're special because of your mother that nobody ever dared tell you this, Janja, but you know what? You're a big-balled stud of a man."

 _"You take that back!"_

"Enough!" Kion felt like his headache was about to explode out of his skull – being hurled against that wall by Shenzi had added another layer of pain on top of the one that he had almost stopped noticing. "We all decided to go to the Outlands together, risking our _lives-"_ wind exploded out of his mouth with the last word, pushing the frightened hyenas back even as they sought purchase on the ground with their nails, "-and I spent so much time worrying, asking myself if I really had it in me to _kill_ people-"

Jasiri looked up, eyes widening with horror. "Uh, Kion…"

"And here you are just _screwing around._ You hyenas take nothing seriously, even when it comes to your own lives." It was just like back in the desert, when Jasiri had so casually mocked him even as his friends were in danger. "And meanwhile, _Shenzi_ is after us, and somehow I don't think _she's_ treating it all like a game the way you are. We've got to get up there right away and tell her-"

"Tell me what?"

Kion turned around slowly, the fury that blazed in the back in his skull mixing with a thick layer of dread. There was a lone figure standing in front of the tunnel, the opening to which now seemed somehow _larger_ than before, her form outlined by the eerie blueish light from the volcanic vent.

She was holding something in her jaws.

"Shenzi," he said, swallowing thickly. "Where… where are the others?"

"Fighting." She spat the bundle out onto the ground, and shrugged. "Could be alive. Probably dead."

Kion's breath caught in his throat. His companions versus the two laughing shadows. That had to be a fight they could win, or so he prayed. He did not dare look down at the bundle.

"You betrayed us," he whispered. "Betrayed Scar. After everything he did for you."

"Scar was naïve," she said. "Thought he was being cynical, but that's a fool's game. He spent all his life using others, and then when that lion cub made him all soft inside, he thought he could undo it by giving everyone power instead. He thought that just because _he_ changed his ways, I'd want to change mine too." She gave Kion a sickly grin. "Guess he never stopped thinking the world was all about him."

Jasiri took a half-hearted effort to step closer, but she could not bring herself to keep going. "Shenzi. I thought – you said we were all going to change the world together. I… I believed you."

The matriarch gave her a contemptuous look. "Naïve. Did you really think I'd forgotten about everything the lions did to our people? I thought you were stronger than my son; braver, more worthy of being my heir. But it seems you're just as weak as he is." She froze Janja with a glance, before he could say anything. "Just as unwilling to accept reality for what it is. Just as incapable of taking anything _seriously."_

The two younger hyenas stood there, their earlier fight forgotten – bereft of any more words to speak.

"So, just like that, huh?" The fury in the back of Kion's mind was growing stronger now – it was winning out over whatever forces held it back. "Just like that, you'd throw everything away? You say Janja and Jasiri aren't capable of taking anything seriously, but you're just the same. Without even a second thought, with just a shrug and a sarcastic remark, you'd throw away everything of value in the world…"

Shenzi stared at him with half-lidded eyes, but said nothing.

Kion looked at the bloodied bundle she had spit out. It had blue feathers, and a red beak.

"You know," he said, _"I really_ _hate hyenas."_

The line to his stomach snapped tout as a connection fell into place, pulling on him like a cord of purest burning light, and all the pressure poured out of him at once. Wind poured forth from hidden tunnels and blasted Shenzi with debris even as she raised a stone wall in defence. Kion kept going, pulling on the ceiling until the stalactites broke and rained down over the barricade like deadly stone fangs.

 _"Kion! Behind you!"_

Kion leaped away without thinking, and raised a wall of dust to smother the volcanic fumes that rushed at him from the vent. He kept moving, darting into the cloud of dust to cause Shenzi to lose sight of him.

"Janja," she called, "this is your chance to prove yourself! Kill Kion, and I'll restore you as my heir!"

Kion ignored her, using the sound of her voice to track her location, and focused all of his effort on willing the ground to _crack._ There was a crashing sound and a scream as a fissure opened beneath her feet. For good measure Kion clogged the vent behind him with more dust and forced the pressurized gas into the opening. With nowhere else to go, the fiery fumes erupted from the fissure, and Shenzi screamed in pain as Kion willed the toxic fumes ever closer to the sound of her voice.

All of a sudden he lost his footing as something hurled him onto his back, and for a second he thought Shenzi had finally managed to hit him, but when he looked up it was Janja's face that stared back at him. The rest of his hyenas were there too, halfway between wanting to back their leader and running away terrified.

 _Hate hyenas/ worthless scavengers_

"Janja, get out of my way."

"I can't," he said. "I gotta do this, Kion. I've _got_ to." He bared his teeth and lunged at Kion's neck.

 _Kill them / hate them so much_

The blast crashed into Janja before Kion even knew what was happening – it was like his rage itself was lashing out at his enemies, _burning_ them _._ There was a golden light pouring forth from somewhere, from some hole in the ceiling – but no. It was coming from him. He was radiating starlight.

He got up, ignoring the pain that flared in the side of his neck, and advanced towards Janja. There were several more hyenas in front of him, but he blasted them aside with bursts of wind and stone and something more.

"Kion?" Janja struggled to get away, but it was no good – his paws had been scorched, and he dragged them uselessly across the ground, mewling pathetically. "Hey. Hey, stop, no more."

 _Worthless trash / kill him_

"Hey, Kion. Come on." He grinned weakly. "It's me. You remember me, right Kion? Remember all the fun times we had together?" The grin slowly slipped from his face as Kion approached, only to be replaced with raw primordial terror. "Hey. Hey Kion. Come on. Hey."

One of the other hyenas was dragging itself over to Janja, trying to protect him. Wounded, burned and close to dying, but willing to shelter him with her body if need be. It was Shenzi.

 _Hate hyenas / so much_

Kion opened his mouth and roared, one last time. It came out not as sound, nor wind, nor earth or any normal kind of fire, but as pure golden light _,_ slamming into a wall that had not been there mere seconds before, a wall which had not been raised by Shenzi but by another hyena who was standing behind him. A hyena that looked just as fearful as the others, if for entirely different reasons.

"Please, Kion," she said. "She's like a mother to me. I didn't – I never really had…" She looked at him, pleadingly. "And I don't – I don't want _him_ to die either!"

 _Hate / so / much / hate_

Kion screamed, first at the wall which had already nearly melted from the onslaught, then at the roof of the cave which shuddered as the last of the stalactites fell, and then he turned to Jasiri and… stopped.

He panted, and hung his head. "I hate hyenas… so much."

Then he collapsed, and knew no more.


	11. Kion Returns Home

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I don't reply to each of them, but I appreciate every one of them. BbK2442, I won't tell you what's going to happen, but it's fun to see you speculate each chapter :P T0PH4T, I love your analyses! You make me think about my own story in a way I hadn't before.

Keep 'em coming, everyone!

* * *

The first thing Kion awoke to was the sensation of coarse hair pushing against his face. They were long thick strands, like the mane of a large animal, and their obstruction of his nostrils made breathing difficult. The second thing he noticed was that the ground bounded underneath him.

He blinked awake, and found himself lying on the back of a dark lion, his head resting on its pitch-black mane. He knew of only one Lion with a black mane, and he knew of only one male lion aside from his father regardless. That did not leave many possibilities.

"Granduncle," he breathed. The throbbing pain in his neck flared with every bounding leap. "Where… where are we going?"

His rescuer slowed down, mercifully, but did not stop. "The Pridelands," he said. "You're hurt, and I don't dare take you back to my own lair after what happened." There was worry in his voice – fear, almost, though that could not be right.

Kion pushed himself up, his neck screaming in protest as he did so. He had been draped over Scar's back like a slab of meat, which was appropriate, as he felt just as raw. As he turned to look behind him, he saw what had the old lion in such a panic: There was a plume of smoke rising up from the mountains, and burning red liquid poured down in rivulets. The lava's fierce glow was almost blinding beneath the black cloud that cast the already bleak land in an even deeper shadow.

"The volcano," he breathed. "Did – did I do that?"

"Who knows? There was not exactly much time for Jasiri to explain things after I found you." There was definitely fear in his voice now, and Kion did not think it was just the volcano that unnerved him, either. "Kion, how much do you remember? Can you tell me what happened?"

Kion thought back, his vision darkening with the effort. The afterimage of the sweltering lava danced in front of his eyes. "Shenzi," he said. "She… she killed him. Granduncle, she killed Zazu. I couldn't… I couldn't do anything to stop her. I didn't do anything until it was too late."

Scar said nothing for a while, thinking or perhaps just focusing his eyes on the path ahead. "Zazu gained enlightenment," he said at last. "His spirit will live on – we should be able to talk to him later, when we have some time." His voice shifted in tone. "Kion, do you remember what happened to the others?"

His granduncle was calling him by his name, Kion realized. He was not sure what that indicated, if anything. "I don't know," he said. "Shenzi said they were still fighting, but I didn't get to see it. I think… I think I beat her and Janja with the Roar, but then Jasiri stopped me." He hesitated. "Is she the one who told you to come help us? Where is she now?"

"I asked her to look for the others," said Scar, "though with the volcano erupting I imagine that's no longer possible." There was another moment of silence in which Kion wished he could see Scar's expression, but his thick black mane blocked all vision. "I came to you when I sensed that something was wrong through our connection – Jasiri said that you were _radiating starlight._ Do you really not remember any of that?"

 _Radiating starlight._ There was something about those words that was profoundly worrying, but Kion was having a hard time remembering what it was. The wound on his neck must have cost him more blood than he thought. He had barely even noticed receiving it, at the time.

 _Janja…_

"No matter," said Scar. "We need to get you to safety and have that injury looked at – everything else is secondary right now." There was a sudden splashing sound, and Kion realized that they were crossing the river that marked their border. The spray of water droplets in his face was oddly comforting.

"Scar." The familiar voice shook Kion awake. "Where did – is he…"

"There's no time, he has lost a lot of blood already." Kion felt himself falling as Scar tilted his back, and he collapsed onto the moist grass. As he looked up, he saw half a dozen lionesses staring down at him.

His vision was darkening again, fading in and out. _Mother?_

"I will need Muti," said Scar. "Anything you can gather that will stem the flow of blood, or prevent infection."

"My hunting party will take care of it." The lead lioness nodded towards the others, and they instantly scattered and ran off. "Don't you have anything in those gourds of yours that can help?"

"I do, but there's no such thing as a universal cure. Every injury is different." Kion felt something moist being dabbed onto his neck. It hurt, but the pressure was also comforting in a way. "The Kings of the Past never did care to heal the injured – just as they are more keen to cause draughts than to avert them. The helpfulness of their divine intervention never seemed a primary concern of our dear ancestors."

"Scar, what happened? Simba told me that you might be here – but why? What were you doing in the Outlands? What was _my son_ doing in the Outlands, and why on earth was he with you?"

It was silent for a second. "He does not tell you much, does he?"

"Scar…"

"I sensed your son was in danger, and so I came to help. Though if you want to blame me for this, I assure you you'll still have ample reason once you know all the facts. I imagine Simba did not inform Sarabi that I would be here, at least?"

"No, thank goodness."

"That's one less headache, then." He sighed. "Suffice to say for now that your husband sent an expedition to fight the rogue hyenas in the Outlands – he told you that much, I assume?" A nod. "Your son insisted on coming along, as I understand it. You can blame his fool parentage for filling his head with delusions of heroism."

"I'll make sure to bear that in mind." She shook her head. "You know, the one moment you think the world makes sense, and then the other…" She sighed. "Will he be all right, at least?"

"I think so. Janja missed the boy's jugular, but the fangs still went deep. Ah, there are your companions." There was a slight tremor in the earth as the lionesses returned, who for once made no effort to pass unnoticed. A moment later, Kion felt a pressure on his neck, as something was bound against it. There was another dull throb, but whatever cool ointment Scar had applied had dampened the pain.

"You know," she said as Scar worked, "this is the reason why the Pridelands have always had a royal Mjuzi."

The old lion shrugged. "If Simba was going to miss me that badly, he shouldn't have sent me away."

"Scar, you _murdered his father_. Don't you have any sense of guilt or shame?"

"I do, but I express it differently," he said. "You see, I very cleverly craft a mask of cynicism in order to avoid having to confront my emotions. I find that my training has, if anything, made me even more expert at that."

"You're incorrigible," she sighed. "Still exactly the same as I remember..."

Scar seemed to smile, though Kion's muddied vision made it hard to tell. "You know, I always did appreciate that in you. You were never as gullible as Simba, but neither were you judgmental like my brother. Fair little Nala, observant as ever… I don't think I ever did get you to fall for my tricks."

She snorted. "Nor will I fall for you now if that's what you're thinking, you old lecher."

"Hey, I'm old, and it gets lonely in the Outlands. Give me a break."

Kion pushed himself up. "Mum? Are you two… flirting?"

"Oh, you're awake," Nala said hastily. "How are you feeling?"

"I was already awake," he protested, glaring at his granduncle, who sat there implacably. "And I don't have a fool parentage, and heroism isn't stupid!"

"And he's back," said Scar. "Lovely. I should have kept him unconscious and bought us a few more moments of peace."

"Don't be horrible," she said. She moved close as if to lick Kion's neck, but hesitated and licked his forehead instead. "Kion, does your neck still hurt? Do you need any more Muti?"

"I'm fine, mum." He really did feel better. As he got up, he realized that the other lionesses were still there, waiting at a polite distance, pretending not to listen in on their conversation.

"Ah," said Nala, following his gaze. "Yes, I suppose we should head back to Pride Rock. If you feel ready."

"I'm fine," he started saying again, but a second later he was being carried on his mother's back. None of the others bothered pointing out that the queen did not have to do that herself.

"Oh good," said Scar, his bones popping as he stretched. "I felt like my poor spine was going snap in two under all that weight. What do you feed that bloody kid? Minced rocks?"

"He's underfed, in fact," she said coldly. "I feel like I've been neglecting my duties as a mother. At least Fuli is having a good influence on him on that count."

"Hm, Fuli you say…" Scar grinned as he hurried to keep up. "He did mention that name to me once or twice. _Do_ tell me more about this… Fuli."

Kion gazed longingly at the ground as it passed beneath him. Perhaps if he jumped off right as they went by the ravine, it would take a while before they found his body again.

Thankfully, his mother did not rise to the bait and said nothing else. After a while of running at a swift pace – his mother's back proving to be far softer and steadier than Scar's – Pride Rock rose up before them. From the front. And yet it was still day. Another beautiful theory ruined.

"There," said Nala, pausing to catch her breath. "I think I see Simba at the entrance. He and I have a _lot_ to discuss."

Scar snickered. "Serves him right for forcing me to live in that forsaken wasteland, and then using me to clean up his mess. You know what they say: Karma is a b-"

 _"_ _SCAR!"_

An old lioness came bounding down the entryway and launched herself towards Scar with an expression of purest fury. He had all of one second to mouth an expletive before she pounced on him and tackled him to the ground. "You _dare_ show yourself here after what you did? You _dare?"_

"Sarabi," he breathed. "I didn't-"

"You murdered my husband! You murdered my husband and then you tried to _seduce_ me. You played me for a fool, thinking you could take Mufasa's place and raise Simba as your own – and all the while you and your hyenas are laughing hysterically behind my back!"

"I wasn't-"

"You killed my mjuzi! You pounced Rafiki in the back because he revealed to everyone what kind of lion you really were, right after I defended you by pouring out my feelings in front of my own pride! I should have listened to him; I should have let him do with you whatever he wished, instead of trusting you like the fool I was!"

"That's not-"

"You fought my own son! You fought my son in a duel at the peak of Pride Rock that split my home in two! You filled his head with fantastic visions, and tricked him into forgiving you with that silver tongue of yours!"

"But that was-"

"And then you cast the same spell on me," she spat, taking a step back in revulsion. "Manipulated me with your magic, twisting my heart and forcing me to fall in love with you – and then you left me without undoing your glamour! And now after all this time, you dare show your face here again?"

"I'm sorry."

She let out a scream of primal rage, and then she pounced on Scar, throwing him back and rolling along with him until they reached the edge of a nearby ridge, where they tumbled down into the shrubbery below. After a while, only muffled screaming could still be heard.

"Uh," said Kion.

"He'll be fine," Nala said lightly. "Now, as for you, Simba…"

The king shrank back, evidently having hoped that he would go unnoticed. "You're not going to pounce on me like Sarabi did, are you?"

"No," she sighed, though she sounded like she would have quite liked to. "Just… tell me what's going on." She motioned towards her lionesses, who reluctantly stalked off – some of them still giggling at the sight of Sarabi mauling Scar down below. Some females just never stopped being girls no matter how old they got, it seemed to Kion – though he decided to keep that particular thought to himself.

"I've uh, been keeping in touch with Scar," his father said, coughing nervously.

"So I've noticed."

"I didn't tell you, because, ah, I didn't want you to have to lie to Sarabi and the others, and uh, it seemed better to me if she didn't know."

"How very wise."

Simba glanced towards Kion. "Is our son…"

"He's lost a lot of blood," she said, permitting the change of subject. "Janja bit him, but it could have been worse. Simba, why was our son in the Outlands in the first place, fighting alongside the likes of _Scar_ of all people?"

"It was a punitive action," said Kion, who did not like being ignored. "Mum, remember how Janja attacked us and killed those wildebeests? We decided he needed to be dealt with, and Scar – well, he has this group of students in the Outlands who he taught to use the Roar. It's all a bit complicated. Anyway, dad asked this group to deal with Janja, and I decided to come along with them, just in case."

Simba gave him a grateful look. "That's right. I didn't want Kion to come along at first, but then we received a vision from Mufasa. I uh… think I mentioned that part to you."

Queen Nala nodded slowly. "I see. And, did the fact that I would never have approved of our son going to the Outlands alone with these strangers have anything to do with the fact that you didn't tell me this?"

"Ah…"

"Let's finish this discussion inside," she said, motioning the increasingly desperate looking lion king along. "Kion, stay with the others, and don't move away from where I can see you."

Kion sighed, and laid down in the grass, ignoring the dull throbbing ache in his neck. He hated feeling helpless, and he hated being treated like a child, though he honestly could not blame his mother for it. In the distance, one of the other lionesses approached him cautiously, as though she knew that what she was doing was wrong. It was Madita, he thought, the mother of Kiara's two future advisors.

"Pardon me, my prince," she said, hesitating. "We were just wondering if you could tell us a bit about what happened. Why was that volcano erupting? Why is Scar back in the Pridelands? And how did those mangy hyenas manage to get close enough to bite you, when you were protected by the Spirit Kings?"

He sighed again, letting his head fall against the grass so that the strands brushed up against his nostrils, the same as when he was being carried by Scar. "I forgot to sneak up on them from behind," he said. "I didn't pounce and kill them before they had a chance to scream. And worst of all, I made the mistake of letting them talk."


	12. Ushari Awakens

**A/N:** Fun fact. The lion extra at the end of last chapter was named "Madita", meaning "mother of lions", after the lead lioness in a documentary starring none other than... Jeremy Irons! Yes, that's right, there exists a lion documentary featuring a Zira-esque badass mother lioness which is narrated by Scar. Naturally, I watched the crap out of it. The full video is available on youtube: You'll find it if you just type in "The Last Lions".

By the way, you might have noticed that this story features quite a few different 'sides', rather than just being team good vs team evil. Sure, you have Kion and the Lion Guard as the de facto good guys, but then there is also conflict with the King in that Ono reports to Simba, while Simba in turn is in conflict with Nala for going behind her back, while Scar created his own team in the Outlands until Shenzi betrayed him and joined up with her son to fight Jasiri, whose clan is in conflict with Janja due to personal reasons but who also dislikes the Lion Kings, and in turn...

It makes for a much more interesting story than just good vs evil, I think. And it'll only get more convoluted from here on out :p

Anyway, on to the chapter! Please read, review and enjoy!

* * *

Ushari groaned as he pushed the rocks away from him with a raw exertion of will, thankful once again for the fact that he had found a way to get by in life without limbs. He stared up, dazedly, still reeling from his fight inside the hyena's hideout, and found himself gazing at an active volcano. Raging red liquid raced down the mountainside with each quake of the earth, while a plume of black smoke rose up ever further as it choked the very sky. Of his opponent there was no sign.

"Well," said Ushari. "This is wonderful."

* * *

Sometimes, Ushari questioned the decisions that had led him to this point. Specifically, he found himself questioning the ones that had led to him trying vainly to outpace a raging volcano, or at least get to higher ground away from the cascading streams of molten rock. He could have easily chosen to remain in the lush Pridelands, living out a quiet life except for the occasional haranguing from the Lion Guard, instead of slithering though this endless wasteland of ash and dust.

But then, when fate or the spirits or whatever it was gave him the opportunity to master the elements, save his species and restore his fallen kingdom… well, that could hardly be called a choice at all.

He stopped at the sound of voices, and slithered up behind the nearest rocky outcrop to listen in.

"I can't go any longer, Janja. I'm tired, and my legs hurt!"

It was the voice of a hyena, the straggler of a by now familiar pack. The leader growled back irritably, perhaps to mask his own pain and fear. "We're all tired and hurt, Cheezi, but that volcano isn't exactly gonna slow down for us, now is it?" Janja was nursing his scorched paws from on top of the largest of the hyenas, who was carrying him without complaint.

"Leave him," said Shenzi. The hyena matriarch was being carried by one of her giggling idiots – Ushari had never managed to tell them apart. Even now, it was still strange to see such a powerful and dangerous creature look so weak. "If they can't keep up any longer, then they're of no more use to us."

"They're my clan, mother! You wouldn't understand it. You never did."

The hyena in question was dragging two clearly broken paws behind it, its tongue lulling so far out of its mouth that Ushari thought he would bite it off by accident any second now. Looking at that sad and miserable creature, he thought he could rather understand Shenzi's point of view.

"It is just as well," Ushari said as he slid down from his perch atop the rocks, to the surprise of the hyenas below. "We are running out of time, Shenzi. We'll have to take care of things here and now."

Shenzi turned her head to regard him with half-lidded eyes. "Ushari. Where is your quarry?"

"Escaped," Ushari said with more than a hint of venom. "Something which would never have happened if you had stuck to the plan and _helped_ me instead of running off to play with that lion cub."

Shenzi shrugged from on top of her mount. "I came here to get my son, and so that's what I did. It's not my problem if you can't even deal with a single manic honey badger."

Ushari hissed, but did not argue the point. The element of surprise was the only thing that had given their fledgling group an advantage over their opponents: If it came to a straight up fight between them and the Pridelanders, then there was no way they could ever win. And now, with a living witness on the run, they had less time than ever.

"Hey, snake!" Janja was craning his neck to look at Ushari. "I don't know who you are or what the crap you've got to do with any of this, but that's my mum you're talking to. She's the leader of the Outlands, so you better show some respect or – _ack!"_ His mount had dropped him to the ground at a signal from Shenzi. Janja shot the hyena a reproachful glare, but received only a hollow, empty cackle in reply.

Shenzi was lowered more gently, though she still winced as she was laid upon the ground. The burns on her body were severe, far more so than Janja's scorched paws, but even without them she would not have had long to live. Ushari did not know what was ailing her exactly, but it did not matter: In the end there existed only one disease, and it got everyone eventually.

She looked at him with cold, unflinching eyes. "Can you do it?"

He bobbed his head. "Yess. The circumstances are not ideal, but we have all the elements we need." The lava rushing down the mountainside below them would provide the fire, which in a less pressing situation he would have almost called poetic. In truth he doubted the flames were actually necessary, but when it came to replicating divine rituals of unknown power he was not about to leave anything out.

Janja narrowed his eyes, for once passing up the opportunity to complain about his rough treatment or lack of respect. "What's going on? Did you two set all of this up? What are you planning?"

The hyena was less stupid than he looked, Ushari decided. He said nothing as he distended his jaw, and with painful slowness began to regurgitate the stolen red fruit which he had swallowed. The oversized gourd had been troubling his movements all day, but getting it all the way there without limbs would have been impossible otherwise. The rest of the preparation would have to be done by the hyenas. With his newfound powers, perhaps one day he would manage enough control to get by with no help at all.

Some of the hyenas looked a bit sickly at the sight of the red gunk. He ignored them.

"I named you my heir," Shenzi told Janja, "because I thought that as my son, perhaps you'd be more worthy than the others. That you'd be able to lead our kind to be more than… what the lions always made us out to be." She shook her head. "I don't know if I was acting out of sheer stubbornness or just spite."

Janja gave her a wary look. "Mother?"

"Scar led me into the lair of the Lion Guard once," she said, her eyes distant. "I remember treating it like it was all one big adventure, laughing it up at their expense. I thought it was so funny, sticking it to those crusty old Lion Kings like that. And so, when Scar proposed a dangerous mission to scout out the afterlife, I didn't dare tell him no." She gestured towards the giggling hyena who had carried her. "I gave up your father without even thinking twice about it. Damaged his brain and made him just like my brother. I dunno if that's irony or if those spirit kings saw it as a way to get back at me. I guess the end result is the same, either way."

Janja swallowed thickly. "Mum, I don't care any about that stuff. I barely knew dad even before you took him with you when you went away." He was looking at her with desperation in his eyes, begging her to understand.

"Maybe that lion cub was right," she whispered, ignoring him. "Maybe I threw it all away for nothing. Maybe I really am just like the others: Just another cackling hyena, laughing it up and treating life like a joke until it's too late to start taking it seriously..."

The largest of the hyenas finished kneading the red gourd into a paste. Ushari had barely paid attention to it, and he really should have. His mental discipline was slowly improving, but it was still difficult to treat his own experiences as just another part of the world around him. He supposed there was a part of him that did not really want to, that preferred to live and lash out on instinct as all animals do…

Shenzi eyed the red paste with a sense of finality. "Is it ready?"

"Yes," hissed Ushari. "We'll use the lava to produce the same element as was used by Zira, just in case." When he overheard Scar telling that story, he had realized the implications straight away: The process that fuelled the makings of a god. Not so much the fire itself, but rather, the purpose behind the act.

Shenzi crawled closer to the nearest ridge, half dragging herself and half nudged along by the two mad hyenas that followed her wherever she went. She gazed into the burning red river that had formed at the foot of their rocky outcrop. Her eyes gleamed red with its baleful light.

"This will give you the power you need," she said at last. "The power to unite the Outlands and defeat the Lion Kings. And then, once all of that is over, perhaps I'll finally be able to say that Ahadi was wrong about us. That we're more than just a pack of giggling, mangy scavengers. That he was wrong to slaughter us by the hundreds and make us live in this desolate, forsaken wasteland."

"You're not listening," said Janja. His voice quavered. "You never listen. I don't want to rule anything! I only agreed to lead the clan with Jasiri because I wanted to prove – to prove that you were right about me." He swallowed. "And I left, because there was no longer any point in staying…"

Ushari reached out with his mind and broke off the ground on which the red paste rested, before carefully nudging the newly formed plateau into the lava below. The scorching heat instantly ignited the fruit, bathing the area in crimson fumes. The rock itself remained in the middle of the stream, floating on the current like a lonely island shrouded in a red mist.

"You'll prove it to me now," she said. "With this, you'll become something no hyena's ever been: Their equal." She turned to look at him with eyes that were no longer half-lidded. "All living things die, Janja, but this way I'll always be there to guide you. That's what you always wanted, isn't it?"

Janja nodded, just once.

She turned and leaped onto the island, the flames consuming her almost instantly. Her dying screams were accompanied by the manic giggling of the two hyenas who had followed her all this time, as well as the cries of her son who rushed to the edge as if to leap in after her. The boy flinched away from the wall of sweltering heat, and by the time the crimson fumes enveloped him he had already collapsed.

When the foul smoke drifted over to Ushari, it was by far the worst thing he had ever smelled.


	13. Darśana

**A/N:** Geez, you write a stunning reveal chapter where one of the characters turns out to be a villain all along, and everyone just yawns and waits for the next one. I have a theory that the kind of people who read stories about sassy lions with British accents would rather read about British lions being sassy than stunning reveals about villainous snakes.

With that said, I have for you a chapter featuring a sassy British lion! What luck.

(Disclaimer: Sassy British lions may not actually be all that sassy in this particular chapter)

* * *

When Kion heard steps on the grass behind him, his first thought was that one of the lionesses had come to ask more questions, but when he turned he saw that it was Scar instead. His mane was a tangle of matted hair pointing in every direction, there were scratches all over his face and his expression was decidedly unamused.

"Did Sarabi…"

"Don't ask," said Scar. He turned and headed towards the secret lair of the Lion Guard, which at this point was probably not all that secret anymore. "We need to do a little séance before I leave."

"A séance?" Kion struggled to get up and follow after him, his paws aching from having lain on top of them while he rested. "What do you mean?"

"We still need to see if we can talk to Zazu, remember? In addition to allowing him to once again rejoice in the sound of his own voice, it would be good to see if we can finally find out more about the afterlife, since poor Zira seems to be stuck here with me." He roughly brushed the vines covering the entrance aside, not seeming to care much if he left the gap exposed for all to see. "Besides, there was that whole matter with you radiating starlight, remember? We, ah, rather need to look into that."

"Right," said Kion, following him into the cavern. Normally the walls of the cave were lit up through the gaping chasm in the roof, but the sun was too low by now for that to matter. Kion stared up at the crevice in wonder, tracing the gap between the cliff-sides all the way up to the shattered peak of Pride Rock.

"To think that you did all of that in your fight with my dad… The Elder Roar really is something special, isn't it?"

"That wasn't me," said Scar, "and it wasn't Zira either. What you're looking at is the work of your great grandfather, Ahadi, who named me Trash and my brother King. He was willing to destroy all the Pridelands just to get back at me for killing his favoured son, and he possessed the strength of will to do it all from beyond the grave." He fixed Kion with a narrow stare, his green eyes gleaming in the darkness. "In the end he managed to possess your father, Simba, by taking advantage of the boy's own rage and lack of discipline. And it almost destroyed us all."

Kion swallowed. "You think – you think that's what happened to me? That King Ahadi possessed me while I was fighting Shenzi and the others, and that's what caused me to lose control of the Roar?"

"Ahadi has always hated the hyenas." Scar plucked one of the gourds from the string on his neck, and set to work reducing its contents to a fine paste. "Just like he always hated me. Correspondingly, the times when you lost control were when you were fighting me and when you were fighting hyenas. And, when he controlled Simba directly, he was able to control not just the basic elements but even light itself." He gestured with one paw as he worked, indicating a corner of the cave where strange claw-like appendages rose up from the stone floor, clasping an empty spot in the middle where a searing heat had left a scorch mark on the ground.

Kion looked at the sight in horror. "What… what can we do to stop him?"

"My first thought was to teach you to master your abilities," said Scar, drawing a tendril of water from the central pool and working the liquid into the red substance. "After all, Ahadi cannot possess you if you are strong enough to resist his will. Now, however, I am starting to think there is more to it than that." He flicked his claws, and a spark of fire burst forth, causing the paste to smoulder. "Here, breathe this in. I am sure Zazu would love to enlighten us with some profound wisdom from beyond the grave. No betting on whether he has already conquered the afterlife for us in the meantime."

Kion reluctantly breathed in the noxious fumes. It was not the first time he had done this training, but the idea of allowing some strange substance to control him had never ceased to unnerve him.

"Okay, now what?"

"Focus," said Scar. "Try to establish a connection with him. You should be able to recognize the sensation by now."

Kion frowned, and tried to picture the strange blue bird who had been his commander for that one brief mission, but who he had otherwise only known as his father's majordomo. "Right," he said. "It's just… I don't really know what I should be focusing _on."_

"Just think about what he's like," Scar said irritably. His own eyes were scrounged shut. "His personality, what he believed in, things like that. You must have learned a thing or two about him while he served under your father."

"Right," Kion said again. He thought back to what Zazu said about wanting to survive the death of the planet so that he could straddle its corpse and eat it. "I'm just not sure if any of that was really _him."_

"Just give it a moment. Don't give up so bloody easily!" Scar's nostrils twitched as he breathed in more of the pungent fumes, and his pupils dilated visibly. "You're just like your father… the moment things don't go your way, you turn your back on the things you care about. You pretend that if you just ignore your problems and keep them out of sight, they'll go away."

"That's not what my father is like at all," Kion protested. "You're just bitter about being banished on account of your actions. And I don't believe you and Sarabi _really_ hate each other either, based on how you act." He narrowed his eyes. The fumes were definitely clouding his senses, but he thought he could see his granduncle more clearly than ever. "You keep telling me that you have to be honest about your feelings in order to master the elements, but every single wielder of the Roar I've met is as delusional as can be! I don't think you're being honest with your feelings at all."

"Be quiet," Scar grunted. "I have to focus."

"I don't buy it at all," he continued. There was a tiny smouldering ember floating around Scar's head, which he supposed could have emanated from the burning red fruit, but Kion was no longer so easily fooled. "It seems to me that what gives you power isn't awareness of your feelings, but rather having those strong feelings in the first place. It's your connections to others that you draw upon that gives you strength, just like how you're drawing on Zira right now. And if so, maybe that's what Mufasa meant in his vision, when he told me that-"

Scar's eyes flashed open. "A vision? You had a _vision_ of my brother? And you didn't tell me?"

"Uh," said Kion, trying to gather his thoughts. "It kind of just… slipped my mind for a second?"

Scar pushed himself up. "Fool boy! This could change everything. Do you have any idea how hard knowledge of the afterlife is to come by? Even after years of research, I scarcely know more than when I started. Tell me what he told you, what triggered it, what it looked like, everything!"

"Right," Kion said hastily, trying to remember all the details. "It was after my dad asked grandfather for advice on whether to let me go to the Outlands. I was thinking about…"

 _"_ _Grandfather, I know my father trusts me, but he needs someone he can truly look up to…"_

He swallowed. "I thought about how my dad felt about him, as well as about you and everyone else, and asked if he could say something to him in reply."

 _"_ _Simba, my son. I cannot… there is so much I want to say, but my power is waning. I must hold him back. I cannot… I cannot hold on any longer. He is coming."_

"I felt a connection," he whispered, "and then I saw the Constellation of the Lion, and I heard grandfather's voice say that he had to _hold him back."_ He had been trying to warn them about King Ahadi, it had to be. "Then he addressed dad and said that he had _forgotten him."_ It had seemed like such a cruel thing for such a wise king to say. He almost had not repeated that part to his father. "And then he said that his power was waning, and he could not hold on any longer…"

By the time Kion was done, Scar was staring at him with unnervingly large, unblinking green eyes. No, that was not quite right: Rather, Scar was looking straight past him, as if he was not there at all.

"Simba, you have forgotten me…" The old lion started pacing around the cave. "That's the exact same thing he said in the vision Rafiki conjured, all that time ago. I thought it had just been a trick, that the old Mandrill was trying to control him. But now… no, I've been a fool to let myself think that. An utter fool!"

"He was trying to warn us," Kion said in a small voice. "Wasn't he?"

"Yes, but in more ways than you think." Scar drew in a breath. _"You have forgotten me… my power is waning._ I thought Mufasa would never have been so pointlessly cruel to his only son, and so I dismissed it out of hand. But my brother was trying to tell us exactly _why_ he did not sound like himself. _"_ He looked at Kion with a forlorn expression. "You fool boy… it looks like you were right after all."

"The power of spirits comes from their connections," Kion said, swallowing. The realizations were rushing in faster than he wanted to hear them, but he had long learned to reject that instinctive desire to flinch away from uncomfortable truths. "And if you have a powerful connection to another soul, then you can use that as a kind of anchor to stop yourself from dissipating after death. But if they forget about the kind of person you really were, then that connection is corrupted, or vanishes entirely..."

"Which is why we never heard again from Rafiki or the others," Scar whispered, staring at the crimson ember that floated aimlessly in front of him before settling upon his open paw like a sleepy kitten. "It is not about your own strength of will, but whether or not there is anything left to tie you to this world..."

The implications were coldly, cruelly clear. "But, but you must have had some kind of connection with Zazu, right? I mean, you two have known each other for so long. There has to be _something."_

But Scar kept staring at the naked flame in his paw, and said nothing. There was a desperate longing that radiated from that fiery wisp, which Kion could only now sense, almost as if the two were not physically touching at all. Like there was a whole world between them, and no amount of travel could bring them any closer…

"I'll go get dad," Kion said quickly. "He… Zazu served under him for him for ages. He has to have some kind of connection to him. He _has_ to."

"Zazu never connected with anyone," Scar whispered. "Never showed his true self to anybody. Always hiding behind a carefully constructed mask of cynicism…"

"It's got to be worth a try," Kion said in desperation. "It's like you said: You should at least think about it for a few minutes before deciding that something is impossible. There's still hope–"

 _"_ _Hope."_ Scar burst out laughing, and the sound was so sudden and harsh that Kion nearly jumped. "Hope! Zazu always said that hope is what you resort to when you no longer have anything left to believe in. _There is nothing left to hope for but hope itself._ How very right he was."

Kion stared at his granduncle, stared at the old legend who was the most powerful being in the Pridelands, perhaps the most powerful animal that had ever lived. Now, he seemed tired, drained of life. Even his lustrous coat of fur could no longer hide the tired folds of skin which hung over his skeletal frame. He seemed… old.

Kion decided in that moment that he did not like those crimson fumes very much, which were even now filling the air around them. He did not like what they did to people, and he did not like what they revealed underneath.

"You know," he said, "I never really liked Zazu. He seemed weird and cynical and he said strange things just to get a rise out of people. But most of all I didn't really get him at all. He was just done telling me that the only thing he cared about was dying last, and then a moment later he told me to go get to safety so he could fight Shenzi for me. Why did he do that, granduncle?"

Scar shrugged with bony shoulders. "Honour, duty, or some other sense of obligation. I don't know; it's not as if I understand those traits either."

"Yes you do! You understand better than anyone. You killed my grandfather to become king, but then you let my father live even though he was the single greatest threat to your claim. You cared for him, tried to protect him, even fought a living god to try and shield him all by yourself. And now you're back in the Pridelands for the first time since before I was even born, and you still haven't said a word to him. Why? Why can't you just be honest with yourself?"

"I don't know," said Scar. He was gazing at the fumes, casting his scarred face in a crimson sheen. "To avoid having to feel the things I feel, perhaps. To avoid having to face the fact that in all likelihood, everyone I care about will die no matter what I do. I suppose I must have already known that, all along."

Kion grit his teeth, an irrepressible fury welling up deep inside of him. There was no reason to give up, not when they had already achieved so much. There was _no reason…_

 _Weak / pathetic_

He stared at that hollow, empty husk of a lion, which lay there defeated, clutching an image of the past like so many other animals before him. He hated that sight, hated that sad, pathetic image of defeat.

 _Unworthy trash / what a waste_

There was a faint light illuminating the cave in a golden glow. Kion looked up and saw that the Constellation of the Lion was shining down through the hole above, but that was not where the light came from. It was him. He was radiating starlight.

"I hate you," he said, tasting the words. "All that power and all that wisdom, but you don't use it for anything good. You give in to your fear and anger and bitterness and in the end you just… _give up."_

Scar was inching back now, his tired old face lined with dread. He did not say anything, but just backed into a corner of the cave, and stayed there, like an animal waiting to die.

"I hate you," Kion said again. A lioness appeared in front of Scar, young and fair, with a dark mark on her brow. She stared back at him, unflinching. The cave around them was gone, leaving nothing but a vast, empty expanse of grass and starlight. He took a deep, ragged breath. "You can just… _go to hell!"_

He turned around and _Roared_ at his enemy, roared with all his fury at the golden lion that had appeared behind him. The raw force of his will smashed into the manifestation, shattering the image of Ahadi into stardust, until finally the winds rose and swept it all away, leaving only silence.

Kion crashed down in the centre of the cave, and lay there, crying quietly for a while.


	14. Wish Upon a Star

**A/N:** I hadn't said it yet, but credit goes to T0PH4T for correctly guessing that Ushari was bad news. The number one rule of fantasy literature still holds: Never trust a snake! There is also one person who correctly guessed another big plot point which plays a role in this chapter, though I'm not sure he realized it was important so I won't reveal it yet. I always try to make my stories a bit of a 'fair play whodunnit' in that you can guess what's going to happen, so it's nice to see I didn't make the mysteries here too difficult to guess :)

* * *

"Well," sighed Scar. "This feels familiar."

Kion watched as the old lion gazed out over the endless savannah, which stretched out before them and reached further than the eye could see. He opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

"Granduncle," he said, "do you _have_ to go?"

Scar turned around and grinned slyly. "Well now, what's this? And here I thought you would be glad to see the back of me. Surely you understand, my boy, that your father has to keep to his judgment for the sake of honour? After all, I killed his father, and it would hardly look good if he welcomed me back."

"Yeah, well," Kion mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "Maybe I don't like honour so much right now."

If a king could not do what he thought was right, then there was no point in being king, or so it seemed to him. Then again, he supposed that was why he had never envied his sister.

Scar's grin twisted into a wry grimace. "So I've managed to corrupt you a little after all. That's a relief." He seemed to notice something behind Kion, and he nodded his head in response. "Well, how about that. Looks like I'm getting a farewell committee."

Kion turned and saw that his mother and father were exiting Pride Rock, marching together as king and queen. The two of them walked up to Kion and Scar, stopping a short distance away from them. Simba had not managed to find a connection with Zazu either, and the pain was still plain on his face – or perhaps that was mistaking the cause entirely.

Nala inclined her head. "Thank you for saving my son, Scar. It was… good to have you back, for however short a while it lasted."

"Don't mention it." He inclined his head towards Simba. "My king."

Simba gave him an awkward nod back. "Uncle."

"Oh _come on,"_ said Kion. "Are you two seriously still acting like that?" He turned his incredulous gaze from Scar to his father, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Dad, you've missed him this entire time! You could barely go a day without mentioning him or his deeds or how I should make sure not to end up like him, and now the first thing you do after he comes back is to send him away again?"

Simba looked torn between acting stern and abashed, but Nala saved him the trouble by speaking first. "The king's command is law, but Shenzi and the hyenas still need to be dealt with, and there's been no news about Bunga. If Scar is not allowed to stay here, perhaps the two of you could take to meeting outside the border to discuss?"

That gave them pause. "I could have one of the lionesses bring some zebra while we talk things over," Simba suggested, trying a little too hard to school his features. "I mean… if you want to."

"Zebra would be nice," Scar agreed reluctantly.

* * *

 _-The Outlands, one day earlier-_

When the foul smoke drifted towards Ushari, it was by far the worst thing he had ever smelled. At the core of it was merely hot stone tinted with sulphur, like you might smell lying huddled in a crag under a blazing afternoon sun, but it was overwhelmed by the oppressive stench of burning fur and flesh. On top of that there was the crimson fruit itself, more a prickle inside the nostrils than a distinct smell, but even that was overpowered by death's own perfume, which stuck to his tongue like a sickly sweet poison.

He slithered halfway towards Janja in an attempt to secure his prize, and then collapsed into the dust. He found himself staring blankly upwards, feeling oddly detached.

Stars. The sky was filled with stars.

The constellations seemed to tumble and fall around him, pattering down like so many raindrops. But while most kept falling and never landed, there was one that kept going, growing in size and intensity until its golden light eclipsed all others. The ball of fire hurled towards him like a blazing sun, searing his eyes until he feared he would never be able to see again, and then –

He blinked.

The earth was moving beneath him, still rumbling from the erupting volcano – but no, he was just being carried on the back of a hyena. It was one of the mad ones who always giggled. Ushari had half expected them to follow Shenzi into the lava, but it seemed that they were not quite mad enough for that. Or perhaps they simply did not know how to act unless ordered.

"Where…" He gave a rasping cough, trying to clear his throat. "Where are we going?"

"South." It was Janja's voice, though Ushari could not see the hyena from where he was draped over his mount's back. In fact, all he could see was the ground hobbling underneath him, and he squeezed his eyes shut before the sight could make him any sicker than he already was. "We need water if we're gonna go any further, and the southern waterhole is the closest one that's away from the volcano."

"Don't," Ushari said, trying to gather his thoughts. "Take us further, to Pua's float. We can get water there."

"Pua's float?" He could hear the confusion in Janja's voice. "You want us to go to the Pridelands? Why?"

"We need allies." He tried to steady his head, which swayed wildly with each step of his mount, but trying to compensate for the movement only made his sickness worse. "The honey badger knows of our plans. If the Pridelanders discover the truth, they'll kill us all. We need to rally the reptiles behind us like we planned, before it's too late."

 _"_ _We?_ You and Shenzi, you mean." There was deep suspicion in Janja's voice, but there was more to it than that. His words were heavier – stronger, somehow, or perhaps it only seemed that way because he himself felt weaker in comparison. "I don't see why me and the boys should do anything you say, snake."

"The name's Ushari," he said, "and your mother and I have been working together for a long time now. You agreed to follow her wishes and become ruler of the Outlands, did you not?" He waited, but he could not see Janja's expression. "Then if we are to defeat the Lion Kings, we'll need to rally all of their downtrodden subjects, starting with the crocodiles. We king cobra's have commanded the reptiles for aeons: No matter how many centuries have passed, they will remember our cause." He felt a faint swell of pride at the thought, but it was drowned out by the churning in his stomach.

"Hold on," said Janja, "stop!" Ushari's hyena mount kept walking, but then a second later there was a sound like a snarl but louder _._ It was not until he was hurled through the air that he realized Janja had _roared_ at them.

Ushari landed onto the dirt with a thud and looked up dazedly. Janja was now looming over him, though his ire seemed mostly directed at Shenzi's former companions. "When I say stop, you _stop_ , got that furbrains? Or do I need to roar at you again?" The two mad hyenas looked at each other for a second, and then nodded enthusiastically, which all things considered was not the most intelligible response.

Janja sighed and turned away in disgust. "You killed my mother," he said, leaving little doubt as to who he was addressing. "Or convinced her to kill herself, anyway. The point is, I don't like you, and I don't care for any of that weird crap you say. That clear?"

Ushari raised himself up, taking care not to seem too threatening. Janja might be small for a hyena, but none of that mattered now that Shenzi's spirit was empowering him. "Your mother gave up her life for you," he said carefully. "Her dying wish was for you and me to continue her legacy, by defeating the Lion Kings and taking their place in the Circle of Life. Surely you would wish to honour that?"

"Honour," Janja spat. "You must've mistaken me for some kinda lion." He looked down at Ushari with not a hint of fear in his eyes. "I'll let you tag along since mother seemed to think you were useful, and she never did used to think that about a lot of people. But if you're with me then you're part of my clan, and that means you do as I tell you. Got it?"

"Of course," Ushari demurred.

They took off again, this time in what Ushari hoped was the direction of Pua's float. As he slithered through the dust once more, sickness still churning in his stomach, he found himself wishing he was still being carried by one of the hyenas. He half thought about asking if he could maybe rest coiled upon their back this time instead of dangling from either side, but no – he would rather die.

After a while the scenery changed around them, as the desolate grey waste became lush greenery with actual trees and plants, and Ushari decided they had crossed into the Pridelands after all. Some time later they came upon a large pond, the watering hole having shrunk with the approach of the dry season. Aside from a smattering of reeds, frogs and water lilies, the place was quiet with only the occasional ripple from water striders dancing across the surface of the lake.

One of Janja's larger hyenas moved forward until his paws were in the water and looked around dumbly. "Uhh… Janja? I don't see any crocodiles here."

"That's 'cause there aren't any, furbrain." Janja turned to Ushari, looking none too impressed. "Well, snake? Where did your crocodile friends go? I thought you said all the reptiles in the Pridelands were just _itching_ to join up with our cause."

"They should be here," Ushari said uncertainly. "With the dry season approaching, there are only so many places they can be." He supposed they could have moved to a lake with bigger fish, but…

There was a yelp and a splashing sound as the foremost hyena was pulled under. A second later green and brown shapes rose up from the water in between the reeds: Crocodiles covered in mud and looking none too friendly. "Well, will you look at that," the biggest and meanest-looking amongst them said. "Looks like dinner just shows up and delivers itself right into our mouths nowadays. I like it."

"Uh, Janja," said the hyena who was now deep in the water and surrounded by crocodiles, "I think he might be talking about _me."_

Janja stepped forward, growling dangerously. "Back off, you bunch of overgrown lizards. Nobody beats my boys around except me – and you're not nearly good looking enough to be me, so beat it!"

The large crocodile grinned viciously. "Ho ho, dinner that talks back! Not so sold on that one – but that part's easily remedied."

"That's enough, Makuu." Another crocodile emerged from the reeds, looking like he had been resting in the cool mud. "Visitors should be treated with respect."

"Pua," Ushari said with relief. The old crocodile was known to be a wise and just ruler, which were rare traits for a crocodile – though it had not always been that way. "It's good to see you again. I'm afraid there's little time to catch up: Events are finally coming to a head, and it is time for the revolution to commence. We need your float to assist us in battle as we rise up against the lion oppressor."

"Ah," the old crocodile said. "Ushari, was it? You'll have to speak a bit more slowly: I'm afraid the years have been coming on, and, well, you know how it is… What was that about us being oppressed?"

"We talked about this," Ushari hissed, speaking as slowly as his patience allowed. "We reptiles used to rule the earth, back when we used our mystic might to build stone structures that reached all the way to the sky and communed directly with the gods. After the fall it was foretold that one day our empire would rise again, and now at last that day has come. I, Ushari of the king cobras, call upon you and your float to aid us against the lions as we finally take back our rightful place amongst the stars!"

"Ah…" Pua said, slowly. "But Ushari, all of that was such a very long time ago. Really, under King Simba, things have been quite agreeable. We have plenty of water, and the watering holes are full of fish…"

The more brutish crocodile snorted derisively. "Not full enough for _us_ to join in, if that bloody hippo is to be believed _._ I keep telling you Pua, you need to learn to stop taking no for an answer!"

"Now now Makuu," the old crocodile chided. "We must be grateful for what the Circle of Life offers us. If we eat all the fish before they have a chance to reproduce, there soon won't be anything left for any of us."

Janja laughed scathingly. "You fools actually follow the Circle of Life? What kind of predators are you, taking orders from herbivores? That's pathetic."

The brutish crocodile advanced menacingly on Janja. "Watch it, hyena. Pua and I might have our disagreements, but nobody makes a fool of crocodiles and lives to tell the tale."

Janja laughed again, a dangerously manic edge to his voice. "Except hippos, apparently!"

The other crocodiles began to surround Janja, snapping at him even as Pua tried vainly to talk them down. Janja's pack of wounded and crazed hyenas rallied around him in response, preparing for a fight. Ushari watched the unfolding spectacle with a sharply rising ire. None of this was happening like it was supposed to, but then again he should not be surprised, because things never did. They never, ever did.

"Stop this," he hissed. "Stand down, both of you. Pua, by the divine right instilled in me as the reptile king, I command you to swear your float to my command!"

"Beat it, snake." Without even turning around to look, one of the crocodiles lashed out with its tail and slammed into Ushari, sending him flying. He felt the world grow dark even before his body impacted the nearest tree and he slumped onto the ground.

He could see the stars again, though he was not sure if his eyes were even open.

The golden star was still falling, racing to the earth as though it were doomed to do so forever. Finally it came roaring overhead like a meteor, and with a flash of blinding light it crashed into the earth. It missed Ushari by a hair, impacting the ground behind him to form a smoking crater in the ground – the ground which did not in any way resemble the area he had passed through earlier.

 _They say that when you wish upon a star, all your wildest dreams come true…_

He slithered towards the crash site, a dark curiosity helping to overcome his fear. From the chasm, a single strand of smoke rose up ethereally. All around him there was nothing but grassland, stretching on into infinity, all of it cast in shades of blue and grey underneath the starlit sky. The surroundings seemed to pass him by almost instantly, distance becoming meaningless as was so often the case in dreams.

The next he looked he was at the landing site, staring down into the chasm, glaring against the unnatural golden light. He knew there was something at the bottom, but there was no way to make out its form.

 ** _"_** ** _Who are you?"_**

Ushari recoiled from the rumbling ethereal voice, which had seemed to emanate from inside his own head, but there was nowhere to run to in a realm where distance was meaningless. "I am but a humble Pridelander," he said carefully. "My name is Ushari."

 ** _"_** ** _A commoner, then. Not that it matters, for I am king no longer. Our reign is ended; all of it is gone…"_**

Ushari flicked out his tongue as if to taste the situation, but the cold empty air told him nothing. "You were a king? Then if you are troubled… perhaps I can be of service? I am but a mere snake, yet in aeons past my kind also ruled the world as kings. Alas, our kingdom has fallen."

A groaning, humourless sound rumbled from down below, causing the ground to tremble. **_"Gravity gets us all in the end, it seems. But I am beyond help: My own son rejected me, even as his brother betrayed me and consorted with the offspring of the hyenas that killed his own mother. And now, he has corrupted even my great-grandson and turned him against me. I am lost…"_**

Ushari stared against the burning yellow light with horrified fascination. "All great kings are lost from time to time," he said at last. "That is why the kings of the past had the royal mjuzi to guide them in times of need. I too have learned enlightenment, my liege. Perhaps I could fulfil the same role for you?"

 ** _"_** ** _Hah. Advisors… lickspittles and flatterers. I have no patience for them."_**

He bobbed his head unthinkingly, nodding as he took in the information. "I see. Your majesty, in that case, would you allow me to speak plainly?" There was no answer, which Ushari took as acquiescence. "You are king Ahadi, yes? I think I know these hyenas you speak of. They are indeed with the traitor Scar even now, working to subvert and destroy the very kingdom that you helped to build. If you are truly who I think you are, then help me to destroy these foul creatures!"

There was another groaning sound. **_"It is useless. The chains that bind me are gone – I am fading. My light dims…"_**

Ushari would have frowned if he was able. There was a puzzle here, of that he was certain. Ahadi was a king of the past and had been Captain of the Guard on top of that, so it was not surprising that his spirit was strong – and yet, he had never heard of any of the other spirit kings manifesting like this.

He struggled to find a clue with which to start unravelling the web. What else could he look to for comparison? Zira, who still floated around Scar's head as a glowing ember, and Shenzi whom they had bound together with Janja. What they all had in common was… connections. Chains that bound them to this world.

What was it that had tethered Ahadi all this time? What was it that had imbued him with such power? He thought he knew the answer, and he could not help but scoff at the realization.

"How pathetic," he said, this time speaking directly from the heart. "You, supposedly the greatest king that ever lived, giving up the first time you encounter a competent enemy? That is just… unbearably sad."

 ** _"_** ** _Careful, snake! I may have fallen, but I still wield power over you."_**

Ushari flicked out his tongue, tasting nothing but weakness and defeat. "You wield power, do you? No, it is the animals of this kingdom who persevere despite their troubles who are truly powerful. You, who had everything and gave it up over nothing? You, who turned his back on his own family over grief and petty spite? I am not surprised to hear that you are Scar's father; the two of you are exactly the same."

There was a _roar_ of purest rage and light that blasted from the crater, and Ushari fell backwards even as a plume of golden flame blasted upwards like a volcanic geyser. He tried to crawl away, but the distance remained the same – there was nothing in the world now but light and fire, and the golden rage itself.

"You are no god," Ushari said, swallowing. He tried to remember what his plan had been, but it was getting hard to think as the golden light threatened to burn straight through his retinas. "You are not even a king. You are nothing but a memory of spite and bitter rage, doomed by your own self-loathing to destroy everything you ever cared about."

A clawed paw reached up over the edge of the crater like a golden demon climbing up along the edge of the world, and the terror in Ushari's heart and the blinding light both redoubled. He tried to remember all the times he had felt fear before – all the times he had been beaten around, and humiliated. All the times he had been forced to crawl through the dirt and the muck, born as he was without limbs. And he remembered what it was that had made him strong.

 ** _"_** ** _Disappear!"_**

The creature raised itself upwards, now existing only as a living sun. It was impossible to see its form for it was made of light, and the world around it was nothing but light, and the radiance burned itself into Ushari with all the fury of hate itself. He let the golden tide wash over him even as it scorched away his flesh, allowing his body to disintegrate as he _remembered_ the last truth he knew but which he had never dared admit: That the other animals did not know or cared to remember what had happened all that time ago, and that they never would. In this world, he really was nothing but a snake.

He stared back at the light of death with empty sockets. "I am… _stronger_ than you."

There was one last roar, this one weaker than before, and then he felt the light filling him, _fuelling_ him as he absorbed its power; accepting all of the pain and hate and reforging it as a part of himself.

When he awoke it was fresh eyes, for his spirit had been born anew.

In the distance, familiar voices were still arguing with each other as though nothing had happened. "So that's how you wanna play it," Janja said. "Well, maybe I won't even _let_ you join my clan, because you're not cool enough. How do you like _that_ , huh?"

"I like it just fine," said Makuu, "since like I said, we don't want you here!"

"What are you hyenas doing here, anyway?" This time it was Pua's voice. "King Mufasa ordered you to stay in the Outlands, and I don't think King Simba changed his mind, did he? After all, we have to be loyal to our liege."

The words filled Ushari with rage even as he took in the familiar surroundings. The crocodiles were supposed to be loyal to _him._ He was their true king, of aeons past… but no. All of that had been a lie, hadn't it? A lie to distract himself from his own miserable, pitiful existence…

 _How pathetic / unbearably sad_

He shook his head and slithered closer, ignoring the building pressure that was threatening to crack his body open from within. He ignored the looks the crocodiles and hyenas gave him, the sideways glances they shot him before going back to quibbling with each other. Pointless, mindless bickering, neither side willing to back down despite having long forgotten the cause of their argument…

At last Pua seemed to notice him. "Oh, Ushari," he said blandly. "I was wondering where you had gone."

 _His light dims / frayed at the edges_

Ushari stared into those blank, whitened eyes, and felt his fury flare anew. The crocodile he had known and respected was long gone: Death had already sucked him dry, leaving only a hollow shell of bones and leathery flesh behind to serve as a snack for later.

 _Disappear…_

He opened his mouth, but instead of words a blast of purest light came out. The golden fire slammed into the crocodile, incinerating him even as the water of the pond blasted upwards and threw him in the air, watery tendrils tearing his body asunder while doing nothing to extinguish the burning pieces. Flecks of ash and dust rained down on them as the hyenas and crocodiles watched in horror.

At last Ushari closed his mouth, and stillness reigned once more. "I am going to rule this land and restore my kingdom," he said at last, tasting the words as he spoke. "What you think about that is of no consequence. However, if you side with me I shall grant you privileges such that no hippo will ever think to order you around again, and the greatest amongst you shall wield power same as mine. You may flee if you prefer, but do not stop running if you do, for if I find you in my way I shall destroy you."

He looked around the circle of frightened faces. Of all of them, Makuu and Janja stepped back furthest, as if to try and hide behind the others. _Good. It seems they are the smart ones, after all._

He flicked out his tongue, once more tasting the stench of death upon the air. In truth, it had never left.


	15. The Calm Before

"Well, this is nice," said Fuli, letting her feline form droop along the gentle slope that made up the rear of Pride Rock. The flowering acacia's formed a roof that shielded them from the otherwise blistering sun, though on occasion a gust of wind would part the leaves just enough for a ray of light to pierce through and assault their senses. "Peace and quiet, for once."

"Yeah," said Kion, though in truth he would have preferred it to be a little less quiet. Scar and Simba had ventured off into the Outlands, taking most of the lionesses with them on their hunt for the hyenas while searching for Bunga and Ushari, both of whom were still missing. Shenzi and Janja were both injured and shouldn't pose much of a threat to them, especially with Scar himself leading the hunt, but still. There was something about the whole situation that bothered him immensely.

Fuli gave him a knowing look. "Oh no, I know that face you're making. You're wrapping yourself in knots worrying about others again, aren't you?"

"I'm not making a face," Kion protested. "I'm just looking to the future, that's all. You know, like a captain of the Guard is supposed to." It was a dereliction of his duties really, to even be out here with Fuli without telling anyone, but he had to allow himself at least that much to avoid going insane.

She let out a long sigh, the kind that heralded the return of an old and worn-out argument. "Kion, you only just got back from the dead after your _last_ mission to the Outlands. Can't you let someone else get hurt on your behalf, for once?" Her lips twisted into a sly smile as she sidled up closer to him. "Although, I have to admit that your concern for others is _very_ kingly. Have you ever considered convincing your father that it ought to be you who succeeds him as his heir? I could help you start a coup, if you like."

"Uh," said Kion. Fuli was brushing up against him _very_ closely now, and the fuzzy softness of her fur was rubbing against his brain and rearranging his insides as a low purring sound emanated from her –

"Aha, I knew it!" The two leaped up in panic, only to find Kiara standing behind them. She clambered up onto the nearest rock and looked down at them with an imperial gaze. "Just as I thought, _Fuli._ While we watch you play the part of a loyal and cuddly kitten, but all the while you're working to corrupt my brother and turn him against me. Yet your efforts are in vain, vile vixen, for now that the king is gone I shall rule Pride Rock as queen of the dawn!"

Fuli crouched low, her tail beating the ground as a feral grin crept over her face. "Oh, a vixen, am I? Well, you're not queen yet, Kiara the Cruel. Have at you!" She pounced at Kiara, who shrieked and went down giggling, and was soon on her back and laughing as she begged for mercy.

Kion laughed along as he watched them roll down the hill, torn between wanting to join in on the fight and holding on to what remained of his dignity. He was saved from his indecision when a white egret swooped down next to him, causing him to jump in surprise.

"There you are, Kion!" Ono seemed to remember himself as he landed, because he quickly stumbled into some sort of winged salute. "I mean, uh, I would like to deliver a message to you, Prince Kion. Sir."

Kion rolled his eyes. "It's all right, Ono. I'm not mad at you anymore." Ono had been acting as his father's majordomo in the short time since Zazu died, and Kion could not find it in himself to be angry about him going behind his back anymore. The whole affair had turned out to be one of those things that felt dramatic at the time, but no longer seemed to matter after being put into perspective.

"Oh, good." Ono instantly reverted back to his normal self. "In that case, uh, remember when you told me to set up a network of aerial scouts to keep an eye on the border to the Outlands? Well, I just got word back from the vultures, and they told me that hyenas were seen entering the Pridelands. They lost track of them for a while, but then the hyenas went straight back in the direction they came from."

"Back to the Outlands? Without hunting any animals first?" Kion got up and started moving back up the hill, heading for the ledge that circled the side of Pride Rock. The others must have noticed the urgency in his movements, because they hurried to catch up with him. "Does my mother know about this?"

"Yes sir, I mean, Kion. I told the queen because I found her first, and not because… you know." Ono gave him a nervous look as he fluttered beside him, his wings beating rapidly to try and stay on eye-level with Kion. "She said that, ah… Since you're still injured from your last expedition, she said to tell you that she took the remainder of her huntresses with her to warn the king and your granduncle."

He froze. "She _what?"_

With all of their forces united in one place, there should be no difficulty in defeating the remaining hyenas, but something felt off about the whole situation. He could not explain why, but there was something terribly, terribly _wrong._

Fuli looked no less shocked. "Ono, that's madness. The king and queen can't both be in the Outlands at the same time: If something happened to them, the regency would fall to–"

"Me," said Kiara. "As the eldest child, I am queen regent while the king and queen are away. Huh."

Kion and Fuli both stared at her for a second, before turning their attention back to Ono. "Look," he said, "did your scouts say _where_ the hyenas were going exactly?"

"Yes sir," Ono said, not bothering to correct himself this time. "It looked like they were heading in the direction of the Outlands' western desert, the same place you ended up after using the Roar."

"Scar's old base," Kion said, cursing inwardly. He started running towards the entryway. "If Shenzi and Janja get their paws on Scar's crimson fruits, they can use them to create a whole army of enlightened warriors. Plus Bunga's parents still live there. We have to go stop them before it's too late!"

The trio was about to storm off when a voice called out behind them, forcing them to a halt. "Hold on," said Kiara. "Aren't you forgetting something? You can't leave without the queen's permission."

Fuli frowned at her. "Kiara, this isn't a game. If Shenzi gets her hands on those fruits, or worse, if they manage to kill the king and queen, it could spell the end for the entire kingdom. This is no time to be irresponsible."

"Oh, irresponsible, am I?" She lifted her paw and started carefully inspecting her nails. "I thought the queen had made it quite clear that she is to take care of matters while the rest of you stay here. If you go running off without permission, wouldn't that make _you_ the irresponsible ones?"

"Kiara, you can't…" Kion opened his mouth, and then shut it again. "Requesting permission for an expedition into the Outlands to secure crucial resources and protect the king and queen. Your highness."

She grinned. "That's better." She sat down on a flat rock and neatly folded her tail around her forepaws. "All right then, please explain to me what is to prevent the enemy from sneaking around and attacking me while I'm alone at Pride Rock if you leave right now."

Kion exchanged a look with Fuli. "Ah…"

"My scouts would notice and get help," Ono said doubtfully. "It's pretty unlikely they'd manage to get here without being spotted."

"But you don't _know_ that _,"_ Kiara said, leaning forward with an eager grin. "It's clear then: The only responsible thing to do is for me to come with you, so you can protect me."

"No," said Kion.

She shrugged. "Then you can't leave. Either take me with you or stay: Those are your options."

The three guardsmen huddled together. "We can drop her off with the hippos along the way," said Fuli. "Beshti will keep her safe while we're gone, and she'll have had her fun."

"I don't like it," said Kion. "But I also know it's pointless to try and argue with my sister." He turned around and sighed. "Fine. But while you're with me you follow my orders, got it?"

Kiara leaped up on the spot. "Yes! I mean, you've made a wise decision, Captain."

"Yeah, yeah." Kion shook his head but did not waste any more words. He leaped down the entryway with nearly the same lightness as Ono and hit the ground running. The knot in his stomach slowly untangled itself as he ran: The situation was no better than before, and he might even have made it worse, but somehow it still felt better to be doing something than to sit and wait. He closed his eyes and allowed his instincts to drive him forward, revelling in the freshness of the wind as it blew through his mane.

 _Mum, dad, I'm coming. Against whatever threat awaits... I am ready._

"A messenger," said Ono, and Kion cursed as he nearly tripped over his own paws. They had barely even left Pride Rock behind them. "It's an eagle. Looks like its coming to meet us."

Just as Ono had said, a bird was swooping down, though to Kion's less keen eyes it was no more than a black spot against the sun. Ono rushed up to meet it halfway so the rest of the group could keep running through the open savannah. After a while Ono swooped back down to their level.

"Jasiri found Bunga," he said, causing Kion to nearly trip and fall again. "She's back in the Pridelands and heading this way!"

"How are they? Is he all right? Did she find Ushari too?" The strange cobra was not a childhood friend of his like Bunga, but they had still all fought together, and that made him Kion's responsibility. Though technically Zazu had been in charge that mission, he considered. His mood darkened at the thought.

"I don't know," said Ono. "About Ushari, I mean. I know that Bunga's unconscious, but that doesn't tell us much. He was apparently still in one piece though."

Fuli shook her head in wry disbelief. "Leave it to Bunga to somehow escape an erupting volcano while unconscious. I swear, that boy is made of vines and thorns and leadwood, held together by poorly made decisions that you still regret years after."

"And bad lunch decisions that you regret an hour later," said Ono. "He definitely reminds me of those."

Kiara watched them bemusedly. "You have some mightily odd friends, little brother."

"You don't know the half of it," said Kion. They picked up the pace, adjusting their movement in the direction that the messenger had indicated. The vegetation slowly grew greener and denser as they ran, and their exertions were rewarded when a dark shape appeared from between the acacia's. Kion breathed a sigh of relief. "Jasiri!"

"Hi Kion." The large hyena was carrying Bunga on her back, and looking none too enthused about it. She grunted as they approached, and sagged through her hind legs until the grey honey badger slid off and landed none-too-gently on the soil. "Fuli, Ono." She squinted her eyes. "Lioness."

"Oh wow, an actual hyena," said Kiara, breaking out into a grin. "My name is Kiara, and you find yourself within my realm. Please, make yourself at home."

Kion ignored them. "What's wrong with Bunga? He doesn't look _too_ badly injured." Aside from the scorched fur and flesh which made him smell somehow even worse than usual. And the bitemarks.

"He was bitten by a venomous snake," said Jasiri, not taking her eyes off Kiara.

Fuli frowned. "I thought honey badgers were immune to–"

"Twenty-seven times."

Kion's heart caught in his chest. Venomous bites, and no sign of Ushari. He realized at last what had been bothering him that entire time. "Jasiri, are you telling me that he…"

"Betrayed us? Yeah."

Ono stared blankly at them. "Bunga betrayed us?"

"Not Bunga," said Kion. "Ushari." That was why Shenzi had beaten Zazu so easily – Kion had left him alone with Bunga against not three but four powerful enemies. That was how Shenzi had known to find them there in the first place. Kion gritted his teeth. "He must have planned it all right from the start. He never even pretended to be on our side, even when he was talking to me… I'm such an idiot!"

Fuli looked at him in alarm. "But that means–"

"I have to warn the others," he said, sitting down and doing his best to calm his warring thoughts.

Kiara seemed utterly lost. "I thought we were already trying to catch up to the others."

"No, he's doing his thing," said Jasiri. "You know, his whole 'I am so special I can talk to the gods and have them wait in line to answer' thing. Best to let him focus, or else he gets real grouchy."

Kion closed his eyes, doing his best to block them all out. He reached out, concentrating on his connection to Scar, on everything they had gone through together and on the conflicting emotions that welled up whenever he thought about the curmudgeonly old lion. He thought about their time spent training together, his frustration at being thrown around having his beliefs so casually mocked. He thought about trying to save Zazu only to learn that it was hopeless, and the subsequent fight they'd had.

When the familiar line from his stomach snapped taut, he was at a loss for a moment as to what he should even try to communicate. He could radiate a raw sense of danger, but then Scar might interpret that as Kion himself being in danger and run back while Simba and Nala kept going by themselves. In the end, there was nothing to it but to communicate exactly the way he genuinely felt: Worry. Panic. Fear.

"There," he said at last. "I think Scar got the message. I only hope he knows what to do with it."

Kiara looked at him oddly. "Scar? Why not send the message directly to father? Or mother?"

"It's easier to make a connection to Scar," he mumbled.

"Oh,"she said. "Oohhhh. Wow, he's not going to like it when Scar tells him, huh? He's gonna be all…" she took a deep breath and spoke in as booming a voice as she could: " _Why does my son like you better than me, Scar? You have been corrupting him again, haven't you?"_

"Hold on," said Jasiri, before anyone could react. "You're saying the _king of the Pridelands_ is that insecure about himself? And you – you're the leader while he's away? You're the queen?"

Kiara grinned. "Sure am."

"We find it pretty hard to believe too," said Fuli. She shared a look with Ono, who only shrugged.

"Seriously?" Jasiri faced Kion with none of her usual smirks and easy laughter. "This is the mighty monarchy you couldn't stop bragging about? This is where all your talk of honour, tradition, and responsibility is coming from?"

"Ah…"

She waved her paw angrily at Kiara, who seemed only mildly put-off by the insult. "This is the circle of life we've been fighting to protect? _This_ is what I fought my own kind for to preserve?"

"Janja was threatening your clan too," Kion protested. "You're not being fair."

"That's not the point," she snarled. "You tried to get us to come to the Pridelands because everything is so much _better_ over here. You told my sister to bring her children here so they'd be _safe._ And all the while the person responsible for protecting the Pridelands is this, this _lioness?"_

Fuli blinked. "Wait, aren't _you_ female? I'll admit it's pretty hard to tell, but…"

"It's different with hyenas," Ono explained. "Their females have an, uh…" He coughed. "A thingy."

"Ohh," said Kiara, her eyes gleaming with delight. "So then you're actually more like… a boy-girl hybrid?"

"No!" Jasiri growled at her. "I am a perfectly ordinary female – it's the rest of you who are the freaks!"

"Enough," said Kion, wishing his claws were long enough to stab out his own eardrums. "We don't have time for this, and even if we did I still wouldn't want to hear about it. Ono, my mother is in danger. Can you catch up with her and warn her about Ushari? And convince her to come back to me if you can."

"On it," said Ono, already taking flight.

He turned towards the others. No point in asking Fuli if she was with him, so that just left…

"Jasiri." He took a deep breath. "Listen, I know you're upset about everything that's happened, and for what it's worth, I'm truly sorry about us having to fight Shenzi. And I get it if you're not really sure whose side you're supposed to be on right now. But my mum and dad are in danger, and I need your help."

Jasiri stared back at him for what felt like a long a time, but then she let out a sigh as her features slowly softened. "All right, but only because it is you asking, Kion. After all, I suppose you're not so bad, all things considered…. for someone who's a lion, a male and a Pridelander."

He grinned. "That's the spirit. Come on, guys, let's go save the day!" A lone cheer went up behind him. "Except Kiara, that is. We're still dropping her and Bunga off with the hippos."

"Aw."

The four of them hurried on, Jasiri once more carrying Bunga on her back even though nobody had asked her to. After running for a while, a vulture swooped down and headed straight towards them.

"Oh come on," groaned Kion. " _Now_ what?"

The vulture brushed down atop a branch of the nearest acacia, moving with a certain elegance that belied its gangly, long-necked form. He stared down his beak, examining each of them in turn. "Where is Ono?"

"I sent Ono on a mission," said Kion, speaking up before any of the others had the chance to say something undiplomatic. "You may deliver your message directly to me." It was Mzingo, he realized – the leader of the vultures himself.

"Very well." Mzingo shifted position on his branch, causing the leaves to rustle softly. "My parliament and I spotted a cackle of hyenas moving swiftly in the direction of the ravine in the eastmost part of the Outlands." He peered down at Jasiri, whose eyes widened in alarm. "I seem to recall there is an oasis located in that general area?"

"My clan!" Jasiri half turned to run, but stopped to face Kion with a pleading expression. "We have to go help them."

"Jasiri, stop. Janja has no reason to attack your clan right now; this is obviously a trap!" Kion once again felt that growing panic in his chest, as if everything were about to go horribly wrong. "Besides, I thought you said you trusted your family to take care of themselves."

"If it's a trap then he has _every_ reason to attack them," she said. "And I said that when it was just Janja and his clan. They don't stand the slightest chance against Shenzi!" She was looking him in the eye with a fiery desperation, begging him to understand. "Please, Kion. I need your help."

"I – I can't," he said, mirroring her expression. "My mum and dad are in danger. Jasiri, please…"

For just one second he could see the disappointment on her face as her expression fell, but then she turned and ran without saying another word.

"Jasiri," he called after her, way too softly for her to hear. "Don't–"

"Let her go," said Fuli, moving closer as she watched the hyena go alongside him. "She's got her problems, and we've got ours. Let her deal with her own kind."

"Her problems _are_ our problems," Kion snapped. _Sisi ni Sawa: We're the same._ He rounded on Mzingo, who was still perched on his branch, watching silently. "What the hell are _you_ still doing here?"

The vulture raised one eyebrow, looking none too impressed. "There is still the small matter of reimbursement left to be discussed. Young Ono promised us that that our services would be rewarded with the king's gratitude. I was hoping to find out in what exact terms this gratitude might be expressed."

Kion let out a low growl, finding his patience approaching rock bottom. "I'm sure some kind of arrangement can be made between my father and the vultures, _after_ he returns."

"I see," said Mzingo, his expression perfectly neutral. "Well then, I shall convey your message to the others." He lifted one black wing as if to bid them goodbye, and then took off, vanishing through the leaves.

"Strange guy," Kiara mused.

"I guess I just attract them," Kion bit out. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed deeply. "Let's just go to the hippo's and get this over with." He picked up Bunga by the scruff of his neck and tossed the honeybadger over his shoulders. He did not weigh much, but it was difficult to stop him from sliding off.

"I'll go after her," said Fuli.

Kion blinked. "What?"

"I'm the fastest in the Pridelands, and I already know where her clan lives," she said. "If it really is a trap, I'll be able to spring it, escape, and still get back to you in time."

"But, I thought you said…"

"No, you're right," she said. "Her problems are our problems too. We're all fighting the same enemy, and we need every bit of help we can get right now." She smiled wryly. "You're not gonna tell me you can't go on without me, are you? I'll smack you if you do."

"I won't," he said, not quite able to hide his own grin. "Go on then, soldier. Don't get yourself killed."

She smirked. "Please. Death's not fast enough to catch up with me."

She vanished in a blur of wind and feline grace, and then it was just Kion and his sister that remained, with Bunga still being carried on his back. The two of them resumed their run through the savannah, keeping a calm but steady pace. Kiara seemed quieter than before, which probably had something to do with his earlier outburst. He would have to apologize to her and Fuli for losing his patience, later.

 _Then again, they'd probably just tease me by saying I should yell at people more often,_ he thought dryly.

"So, I guess it's just us now," Kiara said, breaking the silence. "Kind of funny though, isn't it?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, the whole reason I came with you is because it was too dangerous for us to all be split up," she said. "And yet now it's just the two of us left. It's funny how things turn out sometimes."

He stared at her for one second, and then another. She stared back at him, blankly.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, the realization of what had been bothering him that entire time finally clicked into place. The way events had been shaping up, coincidence piling onto coincidence with no sign of stopping: Shenzi showing up at the worst possible time to attack them, right before Ushari told him to chase after Jasiri and just after convincing them to go in the cave in the first place. Or rather, _allowed himself to be convinced by the others,_ after making sure to be the first to point out that it might be trap.

The way Ushari had snapped at him back at Scar's cave, always apologizing for his short temper. _"He never even pretended to be on our side even when I talked to him,"_ he remembered thinking. It had almost been reassuring to think that his enemy had at least not been smart enough to hide his foul temperament.

He could once again hear that one rock falling back at the ravine, so much like the thoughts that were finally falling into place. That sense of being followed, being spied on the whole time. _"Guys, I found an evil-doer,"_ Bunga had shouted triumphantly, as he held the red snake aloft. _"You could say he is the spymaster of our group,"_ Zazu had informed them. _"You have some mighty odd friends there, Ushari,"_ Jasiri had remarked as the skinks left to inform Shenzi and prepare the ambush.

All of it, all the things he already knew added up to something which he should have long ago realized:

 _The situation has changed._

 _I'm not fighting Janja anymore._

 _The enemy is smart._

He dove for Kiara right as he heard the rustling of wind behind him. He raised a wall of earth around them with his will only for it to burst apart as something crashed into it from outside, hurling the two of them through the tall grass and into the dirt with an unseen force. He looked up, dazed, and found himself gazing up at a dozen grey and tattered shapes that stared down at them from the trees. Mzingo was foremost amongst them, looking down his beak with harsh and coldly neutral eyes.

"King Ushari sends his regards," he said, as the grass and trees ignited all around him.


	16. The Fires of War

**A/N: T** he Lion Guard cartoon can't really compare to the original movie, but one thing I do like is how blatantly the monarchists are written as the good guys. This is made much funnier by the fact that the evil vultures are literally _democrats,_ whose vile plan is to take over the Pridelands by… holding a vote and getting democratically elected. How heinous!

It's mostly a joke about the fact that a flock of vultures is called a 'parliament', but however you look at it, it seems someone did not like politicians very much.

* * *

"Mzingo," Kion coughed as he struggled to his feet. "Why?"

"Because you do not respect us," the vulture said. "All our lives we clean up after you, and in return you call us scavengers. Once Ushari is king, we vultures shall finally rule the skies and gain the recognition we deserve." He smiled humourlessly. "Besides, it is as they say: In war, it is ever the vultures who prosper."

Kion glanced desperately towards his sister, who was dragging herself out of the dirt while Bunga still lay unconscious next to her. "I'm sorry I insulted you," he said, stalling for time. "You're right, we never did appreciate you enough. Listen, I don't have the authority to decide these things myself, but I promise we'll bring your case before my father as soon as he returns. I swear on my Pride that you and your vultures will get the compensation you've earned for your hard work, and that you won't be punished for any of this."

"Hmm." Mzingo turned to the rest of his vultures, who were staring down at Kion with a dangerous gleam in their eyes. "Let's put it to a vote. All in favour of killing the lions before they have a chance to get away?" They cried out in a cacophony of caws. _"The ayes have it!"_

Kion leaped for Bunga, grabbing the honey badger in his teeth as he dashed towards the tree line while hoping fervently that Kiara would follow. Behind him, something crashed into the earth, shooting up a plume of dust.

 _"_ _Kion,"_ Kiara shrieked, "do something! Use the Roar!"

 _"_ _Hrmbl,"_ he said, trying vainly to speak through the honey badger in his teeth. Even if he did not have his mouth full, he had still lost most of his power when he rejected Ahadi, and there was no way he could fight while protecting both his companions at the same time.

Something smashed into the earth next to him, and he only barely managed to dodge to the side, hitting the earth and only barely stopping to get up before running again. The trees looked so very far away…

A faint groaning sound emanated from his mouth, and Kion realized it was Bunga who had been shaken awake from his rough treatment. Kion immediately slung him over his shoulders, freeing his mouth. "Bunga! Wake up. Kiara and I are under attack by Mzingo and his parliament, who have been empowered by Ushari and who are now setting the savannah on fire!"

" _Urgh…_ " He could feel Bunga getting up, still groaning as he rose unsteadily on Kion's back. "Whah? Uh, right. Beat demonic flame vultures, save princess – got it." He paused. "Uh, just to be clear: I'm still unconscious, right?"

"Bunga!"

"Alright, alright, I'm fighting already. Sheesh." There was a sound of suddenly expanding air, and then a hollow thud followed by the crash of a body hitting the ground. "Got one!"

"Nicely done," said Kiara. "Watch out, there's more of them coming from the left."

"On it. Come and get some, feathermuckers!"

There were several more blasts of wind followed by avian shrieks behind Kion, but he ignored them, focusing instead on dodging the varied trees that were becoming ever denser around them. Something crashed into a nearby Sausage Tree even as he swerved around it, nearly flattening them as it shattered and with a loud groaning sound collapsed onto the ground.

"Hey, keep it steady," Bunga called out. "I can't aim if you keep moving around like that."

"Feel free to get off if you don't like it!"

"Nah, I'm good," said Bunga. "Whoa – hold on, looks like they're getting up close and personal. This calls for my special technique." There was another eruption of air behind them. _"Poisoned wind technique!"_

There was a whole series of thuds and strangled screams from the vultures. Some of them were still audibly coughing long after they hit the ground, despite the speed at which Kion ran.

"Oh wow," said Kiara. "That got, like, five of them."

"Yep, that's my special," Bunga said proudly. "I can only use it once per day though – or sometimes twice after a _really_ good meal."

Kion decided not to comment on this. "We're getting close to the hippos," he said. "If we can just reach them, they can-" _Do what, exactly?_ They would be helpless against an aerial attack. In fact, with Zazu dead, Mzingo could easily take control of the entire air space, allowing Ushari control over all communication.

The thought occurred to him then, that Ono might never have reached his mother at all.

And if _that_ was the case, then his father, mother and Scar still had no idea what they were truly up against. And even if the attack on Jasiri's clan was a lie, Mzingo had watched her and Fuli go and would surely have reported it – which meant that Ushari knew where each and every one of his friends were right now.

A grey blur landed on the tree in front of him, and Kion stumbled to a halt as it and all the plants around it suddenly caught on fire. Mzingo stared down at them from on top of his perch, heedless of the flames that were spreading all around him and which threatened to set the entire savannah ablaze.

"Impressive," he said, his eyes gleaming with an orange light. "You three have, at present, taken out close to half of my parliament. I must say that was unexpected. However, you still-"

Kion opened his mouth and _roared,_ blasting Mzingo and his vultures with a hurricane of wind, while at the same time reaching out to the blaze and forcing the fire towards his enemies. Mzingo shrieked as the flames turned on him, and he beat his wings desperately even as the vortex of wind and fire blew him far away. Several more vultures dropped out of the sky, their bodies charred and smelling of foul smoke.

Kion moved forward, stepping over Bunga who had been thrown off when he suddenly stopped. He approached the nearest of the fallen vultures, who was trying desperately to put out its smoking feathers. He stepped onto its wing, extinguishing the smouldering fumes and pinning it to the ground.

"I want you to send Ushari a message," he said, staring the terrified bird in the eye. "Tell him I know. Tell him I've figured it all out. Tell him that Prince Kion, the fiercest animal in the Pridelands and Captain of the Lion Guard, is coming for him."

He lifted his paw and allowed the terrified vulture to fly away, though it was not clear if he would even reach Ushari, for he was half-circling through the air as a result of his one burned wing.

"Oh wow," said Bunga. "I think I might've missed a few things while I was out." He idly picked up one of the scorched birds. "Huh. It's a pity I'm more of an insectivore, 'cause I gotta say, this smells pretty good."

Kiara stepped away, a green expression on her face. "You know, after this is over, I think I'm gonna give dad a bit less trouble about not letting me do boy stuff. I'll just stick to being queen."

Kion grimaced. "Sorry you had to see that. Let's just go to the hippos and get you to safety." He focused on his power, trying to extinguish the spreading flames, but for every burning tree he doused ten more patches of tall grass caught fire. Seeing it was hopeless, the three of them ran onwards, heading for the river that was now plainly within view. Behind them, a black plume of smoke rose up ever higher.

 _"_ _Intruders!"_ A great hulking shape rose up from the river, grey and covered in mud, and began to charge in their direction with thunderous stomps. _"Death to the interlopers! Coat them in the blood of a thousand young!"_

"Hold on dad, it's just Kion and the Lion Guard!" Beshti split off from the rest of the hippos and ran up to them, causing them all to breathe a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that guys; you know how territorial hippos can be. He means well, really." He blinked as he looked at them as if for the first time, and then a huge smile spread across his big grey face. "Wow, Princess Kiara, is that really you? And Bunga – you're back!"

Beshti was met with a chorus of greetings and excitement, while his father watched in bemusement. Kion felt a twinge of guilt as they explained the situation: He had not quite realized how out of the loop they had left Beshti. The young hippo had been unable to go with them to the Outlands for fear of drying out, and after that it had all been secret missions involving Scar that he was not supposed to tell anyone about. Even so, it did not feel right.

"…and so Ono told us that Scar and mum and dad were all going after Janja to stop him from taking Scar's base, but it turns out that Ushari had taken control of his scout network through the vultures, so all of that could be a lie." Kion had not even realized it until he said it, but of course Ushari would not actually _need_ to attack Scar's base: A smart enemy would have secured his own stash of crimson fruits long beforehand, and set up his own base in secret.

"So my dads might not actually be in danger," said Bunga. "Huh. That's a relief."

"Your dads?" Kiara's eyes lit up. "You have two fathers? That's so _interesting!_ How does that work?"

 _"_ _Anyway,"_ Kion said quickly, "the point is, the king and queen could be under attack right now and we'd have no idea, and meanwhile Ushari's agents are fighting us right here in the Pridelands. We've got to get in touch with the others and regroup. Can you help us, Beshti?"

"Of course," said Beshti. He made it sound so natural. "We've got our own group of tickbirds over here, and we can send them out to get in touch with everyone else. Don't worry Kion, there's no way the vultures managed to get rid of all the birds in the Pridelands!"

"I'm more worried about the fire," said Kiara, surveying the rising plume of smoke behind them. "If the wind picks up and it turns into a real brushfire, it could completely cut us off from Pride Rock, not to mention the danger to all the animals who live there. There'd be stampedes, and worse."

Beshti's father huffed loudly, causing Kion to jump slightly. "Don't fret, Princess. The Pridelands have survived a lot worse than traitorous snakes and a little fire. As long as we've got good, solid workers like my son here, and true leaders like King Simba to command us, Pride Rock will stand tall."

"Aw, thanks dad." Beshti smiled almost bashfully, which after spending so much time around Scar was a strange thing for Kion to witness. "He's right, guys. That fire won't spread past the river, not until the dry season at least. We'll hold the line here if nothing else." He stomped his feet into the mud for emphasis.

There was a tremor in the earth that was very definitely not caused by Beshti's stomp.

They all looked to where the tremor was coming from, to the air that shimmered at the edge of the horizon. It was the river, which was swelling upstream, rushing up and rising into a veritable tidal wave.

Beshti's father stared at it, dumbstruck. "…what in the Pridelands?"

"Get out!" Kion would have physically dragged them if he could. "Get out of the river; we're under attack!"

Basi – that was his name, Kion belatedly remembered – stood still, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the onrushing wave. "Hippos are not afraid of a little water. Whatever's coming, we'll meet it head on."

"You don't get it," he said, begging him to understand. "Ushari is _smart_. He knows exactly where we are and what we can do: He wouldn't be attacking us unless he was expecting to win somehow. Either it's a distraction or there's something _dangerous_ about that wave, but either way we should run!"

"Hippos do not run," said Basi. He and the other hippos all lined up at the narrowest point of the river, standing side by side as if to form a physical wall with which to break the wave. "Hippos hold the line."

"Come on," said Beshti, nudging Kion along. "You won't convince dad when he's like this. Trust me."

The four of them retreated to higher ground just in time, for the wave rose ever higher and seemed to pick up speed as it approached. At last it towered above them, and Kion realized in shock that there were shapes moving within the current – dark silhouettes riding logs that were hidden _inside_ the wave.

"Dad!" Beshti half-moved to intervene, but it was too late: The water and the logs all crashed into the line of hippos, burying them with an ungodly amount of force. The water kept moving, barely having slowed from the impact, sweeping the river along and filling the plains before them until an entire new lake had been created within the valley. Only the elevated terrain they had retreated to remained above it.

Rising above the sound of waves and Beshti's scream there was the sound of laughter. Not the high-pitched chitter of hyenas, but a low and mocking chuckle that reverberated through the water like a ripple.

Crocodiles.

"Who rules the waves now, Basi?" The lead of the crocodiles rose up from the water, the rest of his float following close behind. "Why don't you try and tell us what we can and cannot eat now, you old fool!"

"Makuu!" Beshti's father burst out of the water, battered and bloodied but all the more fearsome for it. "Finally did in for old Pua, did you? I warned him about you – now I'll just have to deal with you myself!"

"Dad," Beshti cried in relief. "He's alive, everyone! We've got to go help him."

"Right!" Bunga stepped into the water with a splash, which instantly reached up to his chin. "I'll just… huh. Okay, fighting like this could actually be a bit tricky."

Kiara tugged on Kion's shoulder with a paw, a fearful look in her eyes. "Kion, what should we _do?"_

"I don't…" He stared at the sight, at the maelstrom of crocodiles and wounded hippos tearing into each other with reckless abandon. Somehow, it still felt like there was something missing – as if the situation was not quite one-sided enough for someone like Ushari to order the attack. "I don't know…"

"Please," said Beshti, with that all-too-familiar pleading expression. "Kion, it's my _dad."_

Before Kion could reply there came another sound from above them: A horribly cacophony of caws filled the air as the remainder of the vultures returned to the battle, the singed form of Mzingo foremost amongst them. The sky above them turned black, roiling and churning as storm clouds gathered, flashes of white heralding the coming of thunder. Too much to just be the work of Mzingo.

 _It's him,_ Kion thought dimly. _He's here._

Without saying another word, Kion turned and ran away from the water, moving ever further up the high ground. "We need reinforcements," he said, more to himself than anyone else. He was not sure if the others were even following. "We need to find Scar, and mum, and dad. We can't – we can't stay here."

He could not look back. He could not look behind him, for fear of what he would find there – for fear of seeing Beshti leave, or seeing him follow, whichever was worse.

 _Am I coward, then, after all?_

"Prince Kion?" A small bird fluttered up besides him. It was one of Basi's tickbirds, looking just as frightened as Kion felt. "I overheard you saying that you needed a messenger."

"Right," he said, his mind slowly returning to something approaching rational thought. "Get in touch with the other birds," he ordered. "As many different species as possible. They need to know that the vultures betrayed us, and that Ushari's our enemy. Tell them to get word out to everyone in the Pridelands, and get everyone who can fight to meet up at the border of the Outlands near Flatridge Rock, the rhinos and the cheetahs first of all. And tell them to send out scouts to see if you find any sign of Scar and my dad or the lionesses In the Outlands, or Janja and the hyenas for that matter. Then report back to me."

The bird flew off, and Kion felt a measure of calm return to him as he slowly gathered his bearings. It helped to feel like he was doing something, to convince himself that he had control of the situation no matter how tentative it was. Yet now that the task had been dealt with, he had no choice but to face the situation at hand.

He turned around, gazing down at the valley below, which had turned into a scene of carnage. The valley was flooded, awash with water and enemies both, while distant specks could still be seen fighting desperately. Behind them, a plume of black smoke rose up high enough to obscure even Pride Rock itself, and beneath it all the grasslands radiated a crimson glow as though it were a singular burning ember.

His team were all watching alongside him. His sister stood closest to him, her eyes filled with worry for her family and the Pridelands both, while next to her Beshti only stared at the place where he had last seen his father and said nothing. Even Bunga was unusually quiet, perhaps sensing the earnestness of the situation, or simply frustrated with his own inability to act.

"I'm sorry," Kion said. He wished he could have said more.

He turned around, and kept moving.


	17. When Caution Becomes Reckless

Dark clouds seemed to follow the group as they travelled. A steady downpour of rain pushed down on them, seeping into their fur and turning the earth around them into a swamp. With each step the going got harder, the mud dragging on their paws as if it were trying to physically hold them back.

Bunga gazed at the clouds as if to gauge his enemy. "Hey uh, just to be sure: Ushari can't actually flood the whole Pridelands, can he?"

Kion shook his head. "No, the Roar can't create something from nothing. He's probably calling rain clouds here from the mountains, or else he's evaporating water from some other source, but he can't drown us while we're on the high ground. At this point he's most likely just trying to drain our morale."

"Well," said Kiara, whose normally pristine fur was soaked in mud, "it's definitely doing that."

Beshti just kept slogging through the mud with heavy steps, and said nothing.

Before them, their destination loomed on the horizon. There were two pieces of terrain that marked the border to the Outlands: The first was the shallow river, which they had crossed during their expedition to hunt down Janja. The second was a hill leading up to a steep cliff, atop which rested a huge, flat rock. This area had been creatively named Flatridge Rock, and it was there that all the animals had gathered.

They kept going until they reached the herd, only to realize that the situation was much more chaotic than it had originally appeared. A wall of bleating, snarls and grunts greeted them as animals vied to get under the hill's few sparse trees to find some shelter from the relentless rain. The predators had naturally found their way to the choicest spots and were now fighting off competition, growling at anyone who came too close. Meanwhile the herd animals were running around in a panic, caught between wanting to flee the rising water and trying to get away from the predators in their midst.

"This is madness," said Kion, stepping out of the way of a panicked zebra who ran headlong past them, only for it to turn right back around and nearly trample them a second time. "I told them to regroup here so we could fight the enemy – not so that they could all fight amongst themselves!"

"They're just scared," Kiara said as she wormed her way between the legs of a giraffe. "It's one thing if you're a lion like us, but these animals have no idea what's going on: Only moments ago they were deadly enemies, and now they're suddenly told to group together. They're just trying to make the best of things."

"This one isn't," said Bunga. He kicked at an antelope that lay bleeding in the mud: Kion had to blink twice before he spotted the cheetah that held it in a death-grip, for its brown fur left it almost indistinguishable from the dirt around it.

"Hey, stop that!" He pounced towards the cheetah, who flattened his ears and growled at him. He was half tempted to use his roar to scare it off when Beshti suddenly charged toward it, sending mud spraying in every direction and causing the big cat to jump away with a panicked yelp. "Ah… thanks Beshti."

Beshti grunted in reply.

"These animals need a guiding hand," Kiara decided. She moved around the dead antelope with a wide birth, and clambered on top of the great flat rock for which the ridge was named to address the huffing and growling herd. "Animals of the Pridelands, hear me! I am your queen, Kiara. Everyone, please listen!"

"That's not gonna work," said Bunga. He shot a meaningful look towards Kion.

Kion nodded, and focussed inwards. Ever since he had banished Ahadi he had lost the god's favour, but he could still draw upon his own strength. Scar had impressed that much on him, when he told Kion of the time when he lost his own power by using it against Mufasa and subsequently thought it lost forever.

When Kion opened his mouth and roared, it might not have been as strong as he remembered, but to the animals around him it must have been terrifying. Even the clouds parted briefly as the winds blew them away, allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through and bask Kiara in a faint light as she posed upon her rock.

"Thank you," she said, looking rather awed herself. She turned back to the animals gathered around her, which now looked to her in confusion and fright. "People of the Pridelands, listen to me! I am Princess Kiara, and for as long as my mother and father are away it is my duty to see you all safe. I know you're all scared and confused, but right now it's important that we all get along and don't fight with each other."

"Princess Kiara? What's going on?" It was one of the giraffes that had spoken up, her brown eyes wild with fright. "Who are we fighting? _Why_ are we fighting? Where are King Simba and Queen Nala?"

"The king and queen are in the Outlands, searching for the enemy," Kiara assured her. "Listen, do you see my brother Kion over there? He's Captain of the Lion Guard, and he's here to defend us from Ushari and his-"

One of the rhino's snorted loudly. "Prince Kion? He's still a cub! How's _he_ going to lead us?"

"I am also the wielder of the Elder Roar," said Kion, stepping forward and causing the Rhino to flinch. "In case you forgot." Which would have been an impressive feat, considering he had used it five seconds ago, though he would not have put it past these herbivores.

Not that it really used the power of the elders, anymore. At this point, it was just the Roar.

"Listen," Kiara said again. "Please. Everyone who cannot fight should stay in the back and take care of each other. Everyone else, please report to my brother and help him out if it comes to a fight!"

"I don't understand," the giraffe wailed again. "Who are we fighting? Why are we fighting? Why isn't King Simba here to protect us?"

"I just told you," said Kiara, already exasperated. "The King and Queen are in the Outlands, looking for-"

There was a flash of thunder above them, and as they looked up they saw that the storm clouds were growing darker by the second. They seemed to twist and coil together like a living thing, until finally…

"It's a snake," Kion breathed. _"Ushari."_

"Really?" Bunga scratched his head. "Looks kinda like a mongoose to me. Wait, are we talking about the same cloud?"

The shape solidified, and in that moment the sun peered out from behind it, outlining the snake-like cloud with a terrible golden radiance. The crowd gasped as they squinted against the sudden light. There was a voice then, sibilant and seductive, one that Kion knew came not from above but from within his own head.

 ** _"_** ** _Pridelanders, hear me! Your leaders have abandoned you. Your king and queen are away in the Outlands, wasting their time frolicking in the sand while your home is under attack. Only I, Ushari of the King Cobras, can protect you."_**

"What was that?" One of the elephants looked around in confusion. "Did I just hear someone?"

"I'm not sure," the elephant matriarch said, swishing her trunk back and forth in agitation. "I think… I think the enemy is trying to talk to us."

The snake in the clouds shimmered and twisted, contorting as though it were dancing in the air. **_"I give you this one chance to live: Swear allegiance to me, and I will grant you power similar to mine. Retreat to your homes, and I will spare you. Face me, and be destroyed."_**

Bunga cleaned his ear out with a finger. "Okay, I'm _definitely_ hearing someone talk, but I can't make out a word they're saying. Probably just as well though, 'cause I somehow doubt they're all that interesting."

"It's Ushari," Kion said, frowning. "But it doesn't make any sense. How's he speaking to all of us at once? I could understand why he'd have a connection to me since we fought on the same team, but even that's a stretch." He looked around at the crowd of confused animals. "Then again, it _isn't_ working, not exactly…"

 ** _"_** ** _You may wish to cling on to the comforting ways of old, but those days are history. Forget about your king and queen: You owe them no allegiance! For years, they have forced you to live under their paw, promising you safety in exchange for your freedom. Now, you see their true nature…"_**

"Huh," said Bunga. "So that means… wait, what _does_ that mean?"

"I don't know," said Kion, "except that he's got his hands on some kind of power that's somehow tied to everyone in the Pridelands, and he doesn't really seem to know how to control it." He looked around the area, trying to find something that would help him make sense of the puzzle. "Plus, how does he keep using his powers from such a distance? First with the vultures and the crocodiles, and now…"

He reached inwards, trying to form a connection to the ethereal snake above him. There was not much to go on, for they had not known each other long, but the part of Ushari that Kion did know he understood very well indeed. That mounting frustration with the unreasonableness of the world, like a steady current that could erode even the tallest mountain down to nothing over time…

His eyes snapped open as he sensed the connection form. "There," he said, "beneath that rock!"

"Got it!" Bunga leaped for the stone and lifted it up, pulling a bright red skink out from underneath.

"Shupavu," Kion said, recognizing the skink as the leader of Ushari's spies during their mission in the Outlands. "So that's how Ushari is doing it – he's been projecting his power through his lieutenants all along." He stepped closer, but the squirming skink seemed undaunted by his gaze. "Why, Shupavu? I get why someone like Mzingo would betray us, but you never seemed to believe in Ushari's mission. Why risk the fate of your species over some fool dream like resurrecting a long-dead kingdom?"

"Because sometimes it takes a fool to believe in the impossible, so that the rest of us might be foolish enough to believe in him." The skink coiled upwards and snapped at Bunga's paw, but there was no chance of her ever getting through the honey badger's thick skin. "It takes more than just food to live, my prince."

"So I've been told," Kion said. "But once your master burns down half the Pridelands and floods the rest, you guys are gonna have a tough time surviving on hopes and dreams alone."

The skink's black eyes gleamed dangerously in the dim light. "Better to risk everything than to live a life that's not worth living at all. We'll see how your army fares against our hopes and dreams, Prince Kion."

The skink twisted in the air, and suddenly she was falling to the ground, only her tail still wriggling as it dangled from Bunga's claws. Kion moved to catch her, but she darted away and vanished into a crack in the ground before they could react. Above them, the storm clouds slowly parted, letting in new light.

"Sorry Kion," Bunga said sheepishly. "Guess I forgot lizards can do that."

"They're called skinks," Kion said wearily. "And don't worry about it. She and the others are just Ushari's minions – he can't have trained them more than a few days at most. It's the snake himself we really have to worry about." Though even as he said that, he remembered Scar's words, about how it was not training but knowledge of one's own desires that made you truly strong…

"That's a relief," said Beshti. They both jumped as they realized the young hippo was still standing behind them. _How can something that big be so easy to forget about?_ Beshti gave them a concerned look. "Kion, what do you think she meant about our army faring against their hopes and dreams?"

"I suspect we're about to find out," Kion sighed. Birds were fluttering in the air, crying out in alarm, but there was no need to ask what they were saying: At the foot of the hill, he could already see that dozens of crawling shapes were starting to make their way upwards. "I'm sorry Beshti. We should have stayed and fought alongside your father. From the looks of it, we'll be fighting either way."

"It's okay, Kion. He's not dead, I'm sure of it. I… I have to believe that he'll be all right."

There were gasps of surprise and shock rising up from the gathered throng as they spotted the moving shapes below, and Kiara struggled to make herself heard above the crowd. "Everyone! Everyone, we're under attack. If you can't fight, stay back while Kion and the others take on the enemy. The rest of you, get ready to defend the Pridelands!" She leaped off her rock and pushed her way past the panicking animals towards them. "Kion, what's going on? Who's attacking us this time?"

"Looks like it's those crocodiles again," said Bunga, squinting. "And the vultures. And… jackals?"

"The whole shebang, in other words." Kion sighed. "I guess this is the price we pay for thinking we can just tell anyone we don't like to stay out of the country. Or maybe this proves we were right all along – I don't even know anymore." He turned to face his sister. "Kiara, stay back and try to stop the herds from panicking. We'll handle this."

She gave him an obstinate look. "Kion, I'm not an idiot. I've seen what the Roar can do: The only reason Ushari is attacking us right now is because he's after _you!_ You're the one that should be staying back."

"Princess Kiara is right," said Beshti. "Kion, you two should head to the Outlands and find the King and Queen. Me and Bunga will hold off the enemy for as long as we can."

A faint smile crept onto Kion's face despite the situation. "Thanks guys, but I don't think so. At a certain point, once things get bad enough, caution becomes reckless: If we lose this battle then we're doomed anyway, so we might as well all fight together. Besides, the same is true for them – Ushari thinks he has the advantage because we're all separated, but if we manage to take out his lieutenants then he has no more way of projecting his power from a distance. He'd have no choice but to face us in person."

"All right," said Bunga, slamming his fist against his palm, "sounds like we've got ourselves a plan!"

"Hold on," said Kion. "If we charge down the hill we'll get stuck in the water, and then those crocodiles will have the advantage like before." Below, the crawling shapes were pushing up against the hill, but although the water rose unnaturally high it would take them no further. _Not a chance: I don't care how strong you are, Ushari, there is no way you can get the river to reach up to Flatridge Rock._

But that, of course, meant they were at a stand-of. _So what now? What's your play, Ushari?_

"We need to organize into rapid-response units," he decided. "Beshti, take the Rhino's and instruct them to charge down the hill on my command. Kiara, explain the situation to the elephants and cheetahs and prepare them to do the same – and see if you can get some birds to scout out the enemy for us."

"You got it," said Beshti. Both he and Kiara ran off, shouting orders and trying to make themselves heard over the increasingly agitated crowd. They had all spotted the encroaching enemy by now, and the zebras especially had seemed to lose all semblance of reason in the face of death, as more than a few were hurling themselves down the ridge's edge that led to the Outlands in their desperation to get away.

Bunga was grinning at him, his eyes just as wide and excited as when they played together as children, though there was an unnerving edge to it that Kion had not seen before. There was something incredibly _off_ about seeing such palpable bloodlust paired with those childish, buck-toothed features.

"So, what about me, Kion? What will _I_ be doing?"

"You're with me," he said. "We need some way to take out Ushari's lieutenants if they start using the Roar against us, and Kiara's right that I can't afford to risk my own life. So you're going to guard me, and if it comes to it, I'll be sending you as my assassin."

The light in Bunga's eyes doubled in intensity. _"Sweet."_


	18. The Battle of Flatridge Rock

**A/N:** I have to admit, when I set out to write this story, it wasn't that I thought Scar's Samsara _needed_ a sequel exactly. I just thought to myself: Wouldn't it be cool if we could have a giant battle between enlightened animals hurling elemental magics against each other in an epic deathmatch?

Because sometimes, that's all the reason you need. Perhaps it's the only reason anyone ever needs.

* * *

Kion looked up at the heavens, where dark clouds were once again gathering. Flashed of light arced through the air as thunder rumbled ominously. Rain began to patter down on his face once more.

 _Grandfather Mufasa, great Kings of the Past. I don't know if I lost you all when I banished Ahadi or if you're just too weak to interfere, but if any of you still has some power… I could really use the help._

"They're coming," a voice said behind him. It was the same tickbird as before, Kion realized. "The jackals are taking up position behind those rocks."

Kion blinked. All he could see was a cloud of dust drifting slowly up the hill, but from above he supposed the truth was easier to see. The jackals had someone who could use the Roar too, then, it seemed.

"All right Bunga," he said, "let them have it!"

They both aimed at the shapes below and _roared_ , although in Bunga's case it came out as more of an excited shriek. The cloud of dust blew away, revealing a pack of jackals that immediately pressed themselves against the ground and began raising earthen ramparts to try and shield themselves from the hurricane wind.

"So that's his plan," said Kion, realizing. "Ushari's gonna send his troops to create advance bulwarks and inch ever closer while they use their own Roar to attack us. In that case…"

 _"_ _Prince Kion! Above you!"_

Kion looked up for just one second and saw the flash of light, and then he screamed his command at Bunga. "Earthen pillars, _now!"_ They both _pulled_ at the earth and thrust stone and dirt upwards in a desperate bid to shield themselves, and then the lightning lashed out like a snake and blasted the pillars apart in a flash of light and thunder. Kion instantly pulled up more dirt, trying to force it into shape to provide some form of permanent defence, but the soil was far too loose and kept falling apart like endless grains of sand.

There was a shriek that sounded like it belonged to Kiara, but it was hard to tell over the sound of thunder and the screams of panicked animals. "Kion! _What's going on?"_

"It's the vultures," he said, cursing as yet another earthen pillar was blasted apart. "The jackals were just a distraction while Ushari set up his real attack. We have to-"

Out of nowhere, a log went crashing through one of his pillars, and the next flash of lightning would have seared them alive if not for Bunga raising another pillar just in time.

"What the heck," said Bunga. "They can use the Roar on trees now, too?"

"It's coming from the crocodiles," said Kion, shaking off the scorched earth that was falling from where the lightning had struck and coating them all in a thick layer of soot. "It looks like they're using the water to force the logs under and then hurling them back out at us." Even as he said that, more logs and debris came flying at them, smashing into their pillars and reducing one unfortunate antelope to a fine paste.

"This is _insane,"_ said the tickbird, who was still frantically fluttering around Kion. "We can't fight like this! You have to do something, or we're all going to die!"

"You," said Kion. "Tickbird. Who do the birds follow, right now?"

"Huh? That would be… well, everyone looks up to Hadithi the Eagle of course, but-"

"Great," said Kion. "Tell him to get down here, and get him to bring anyone who's brave enough to fight. We have to take out those vultures, _now._ Go!"

The tickbird flew off, leaving Kion and Bunga to focus on their defences. They tried to raise earthen ramparts to defend against the crocodiles like the jackals had done, but the projectile kept flying over them to strike the pillars that were meant to shield them from the lightning. _I should have raised defences right from the start, instead of waiting to see what Ushari would do first. What was I thinking?_

He shook his head and focused on raising yet more pillars up. It was easier to convince himself that he knew what he was doing if he was in the process of doing it.

After a few more seconds, a truly majestic eagle touched down in front of Kion. The bird of prey took a moment to spread out his wings before folding them behind his back, and puffed up his impressive white chest. "Prince Kion. Mwenzi told me that you are in need of my aid. What is the situation?"

"Hadithi. Thank you for coming." Kion pointed up at the vultures that were circling overhead, and the thunderclouds that seemed to follow them wherever they went. "See those vultures? They're responsible for the lightning that has been striking down at us. I need you to take your flock and eliminate them."

Hadithi opened his beak, and he must have been letting out air because he visibly deflated. "You want me to take out… the divine, lightning-wielding god-vultures."

"Not by yourself," Kion said hurriedly. "You'll be taking Bunga here with you."

Bunga grinned and waved at Hadithi. "Heya! Ono is a big fan of yours."

"…I see," said Hadithi. He cast a forlorn gaze behind him. "Well. I suppose I'll do that, then."

The eagle gingerly picked Bunga up with his claws, causing the boy to dangle from his loose skin like an overripe peach. The honey badger was still grinning as they took off.

 _"_ _Hadithi,"_ the birds all cheered as the eagle rose to meet them. _"Hadithi the Hero!"_

"Don't worry," said the tickbird, seeing Kion's expression. "Hadithi is known throughout the Pridelands for his selflessness. He's every bit as heroic as your friend Bunga the Brave!"

"…right," said Kion. He watched as the cloud of assorted birds all launched themselves at the vultures, who shrieked in alarm. Immediately, the lightning stopped striking the pillars and started arcing through the air around them instead. A tendril of light lashed out through Hadithi's ranks and several hawks plunged from the air, but then Bunga roared in his high-pitched voice and the resulting clap of air saw just as many vultures plummeting towards the ground. Then the two flocks were on top of each other and the whole scene became a chaotic mess of birds clawing and picking at each other as they screamed over the sound of wind and thunder, until finally the two leaders found themselves facing each other.

"Oh no," said the tickbird. "Hadithi seems to be caught in some kind of turbulence! He's going the wrong way!"

"I'll help steer him in the right direction," growled Kion. He _roared_ at the teetering eagle with all his might, and the resulting blast of wind was enough to shove him right into Mzingo with an indignant squawk. Bunga wasted no time to grab onto his enemy despite still being suspended from Hadithi's claws, and Mzingo must have been panicking because the lightning coiled wildly around them until finally there was a flash of light and all three of them went down in a ball of flaming fur and feathers.

 _"_ _By Mufasa,"_ the tickbird whispered. "Do you… do you think they'll be all right?"

"I'm pretty sure honey badgers are immune to fire," Kion said dubiously, as the trio smashed into the ground like a comet. "And falling." The jackals launched themselves at the fallen trio with savage exultation, feathers flying everywhere as they tore into their prey. "And being eaten."

After a few seconds, a tiny figure emerged from the heap and started laying into the jackals, smashing them aside with blasts of wind and stone as the jackals let out surprised and angry yelps.

The tickbird stared at the sight in shock. "What… what is that honey badger _made of?"_

"Vines, thorn bushes and regret," said Kion. "But it won't save him forever. Come on, we have to tell the cheetahs to rush in and pull him out of there before Ushari intervenes." He ducked under another flying log and made his way back towards the top of the ridge, only to look around in confusion as all he could see were panicking herd animals. "Wait, where are the cheetahs? And the rhinos? Where _is_ everyone?"

"Kion!" Kiara leaped off her rock and ran towards them with panic in her eyes. "The cheetahs just ran off, and the rhinos are following them! It's those weird skinks – they showed up all of a sudden and started telling the animals that this wasn't their fight and the king wanted them to just run away!"

"Shupavu!" Kion cursed. "So that's what she meant by fighting our armies with hopes and dreams – she's using our own divine hierarchy against us." He stared after the distant shapes that were rapidly disappearing down the hill, where Ushari had very deliberately left a line of retreat open. _Fuli would still be able to catch up with them_ , he thought glumly. He looked to the sky, but the last remnants of Hadithi's flock had fled along with the vultures once their leader fell.

"Kion?" It was Beshti who approached him, a resigned yet stubborn look in his big grey eyes. "It's okay. I'll go save Bunga – you just stay here and protect the others."

"No," Kion said. "That's – Ushari would just send the crocodiles in as well, and then there'd be two members of the Guard who need saving." He cast a desperate gaze around, and found his eyes locking onto a group of great grey shapes near a small outcrop of trees.

 _"_ _Ma Tembo,"_ he called, running towards the elephant matriarch – the only one who had seemed able to hear Ushari's voice. Elephants might be herbivores, but they were anything but stupid: It was strange to think how that had never occurred to him until now. "Ma Tembo! Bunga is down, and he's surrounded by jackals. I need your elephants go down there to save him."

"Bunga?" The elephant matriarch cast a worried look down the hill to where the jackals were fighting, her trunk swishing back and forth in agitation. "In truth, we were just about to… but, the Lion Guard has done much for the Pridelands, and your grandfather always did have a good bond with old Aminifu. Very well, Prince Kion. The elephants are with you."

"Great," said Kion, too flush with adrenaline to be properly thankful. "I need you to charge down the hill, get Bunga, and run back here. Can you do that?"

One of the female elephants looked up to the sky, seeming none too enthused. "But, the lightning-"

"I will take care of that," said Kion. "Now go, before it's too late!"

He watched as the elephants charged down the hill with a loud trumpet, and focused his thoughts inwards. He had been far too callous in risking Bunga, far too eager to share in the boy's own reckless overconfidence, but there was no more time for doubt: Just as he had anticipated, the crocodiles were advancing up the hill to replace the vultures' role in channelling Ushari's power.

 _I don't think so, Makuu._ He reached out and felt for the connection that he had used to find Shupavu before – that intense power which was as radiant as the sun and just as painful to look at directly – and pulled on it with all his might. He was no match for Ushari in terms of raw strength, but all he had to do was disturb their connection enough for Makuu to make use of it.

The crocodile stopped mid-stride with a rather confused expression, and looked around as if he had missed something. _Yet another tactic I should have thought of right from the start,_ Kion thought glumly. _I am so unprepared for this..._

"Prince Kion," the tickbird said as she fluttered up to him. "It's the elephants – it looks like they're stuck!"

Kion followed the bird's gaze, and cursed. While he had been focussing on the crocodiles, the jackals had retreated out of the path of the charging elephants and turned the earth between them into a trap: A great sinkhole had appeared beneath the elephants, and the mud was steadily pulling them down, already reaching up to their bellies and creeping ever higher.

"Damn it," he said. "We need to – we have to send someone to…" He cast a frantic look around, but there was naught but panicked herd animals behind him, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.

 _It's all slipping away from me… father, what was I thinking?_ He remembered the indignant tone with which he had complained to Simba, demanding recognition. _What made me think that I could just ask everyone to rely on me? I really am a conceited, arrogant little cub…_

"It's father!" There was an excited cry from Beshti that instantly shook him out of his reverie, and he hurried over to where the hippo was standing on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the battle below. "Look! Look, Kion, over there, in the water!"

Just as he said, there was a big grey shape drifting silently in the water, moving ever closer to the unsuspecting crocodiles.

"That's great, Beshti," Kion said, marvelling. "That's – that's really great!" If the hippos could execute some sort of rear attack, there might still be a chance for them to win.

"It's _father,"_ Beshti said again, practically dancing on the spot. All of his earlier worry had vanished from his eyes, making place for a pure and innocent joy. "It's really him! It's really… him..."

The grey lump drifted ashore and remained there, bobbing softly with the ebbing waves that brushed up against its mass. The leader of the crocodiles took one look at it and chuckled loudly, before beating it aside with a swipe of his tail.

"Beshti," Kion pleaded, _"don't."_

But Beshti's pupils had already gone blank while his body grew still, and there was a faint sense of fire at the edges of Kion's cognition, like the smell of smoke and burned timber that clogged the nostrils until it was the only thing left in the world that anyone could sense and nothing else mattered anymore…

With a scream that defied all reason, Beshti charged down the hill and over the rocky crags like a rolling boulder, like the unstoppable force of nature that an enraged hippo truly was. There was a cry of alarm from the crocodiles, but it was already too late: Makuu and his crocodiles were bowled aside, tossed into the air like broken timber. Yet almost immediately Shupavu and her skinks emerged from behind a rocky outcrop and sent the water lashing out at him, surrounding Beshti's head and mercilessly pulling him under.

"Ahadi above _,"_ the tickbird whispered, appearing once again next to Kion's ear. "Prince Kion, what are you going to _do?"_

"I don't…" Kion turned to face the panicking herds, who had gone very still, primal instincts bidding them to try and remain unseen in the face of terror. "I have to – I need… all of you. You've got to help me."

Two of the zebras looked at each other, uncomprehending. One of the giraffes stared down at him and spoke uncertainly. "Prince Kion? We're not… we can't fight. We're just grazers."

"Lions eat us, Lions protect us," one of the Wildebeests grunted. "That was agreement. Where are lions? Not here to protect us. Now we must fight? No."

"You're the ones who trampled King Mufasa," said Kiara, stepping forward. "That wasn't part of the _agreement_. If you can trample the king, then you can trample the enemy down there."

The wildebeest looked away, abashed, but the antelopes maintained the stubborn look in their eyes. "We never trampled any king," one of them muttered. "Only trampled grass. We don't fight for grass."

"No, you don't," said Kion. He took a deep breath and reached out, searching for even the faintest connection to the herd animals on that hill, to the people he was sworn to protect. "You're right. This isn't your responsibility, and it isn't your fault. But my friends are down there, and they're going to die if we don't do something." He pulled on that connection, which was so fragile it felt like it would break within his grasp. "They're there because of me. Beshti's father is dead because of me. They need your help. _Please._ "

Slowly, he felt the connection take hold. The animals exchanged a look and a nod, and that was all. The Pridelanders would follow their Prince.

He stepped towards the edge of the hill and _Roared_ , announcing his presence to the enemy and distracting them from his friends down below. Then he charged. The earth shook with the sound of a thousand hooves as the herds followed behind him, and when Ushari's lieutenants frantically turned to hurl logs and stones at them he roared again to blow away their attacks. Then a crack appeared in the earth beneath him, and another, and Kion realized that those attacks must have been a distraction because the soil fell away beneath him as if it had been resting on air. He tumbled and fell face-first into the dirt, choking and coughing up dust at the bottom of the newly formed trench. As he looked up, he saw gazelles leaping over him to reach the other side of the chasm while several zebras crashed alongside him and writhed in pain as they lay there with shattered legs.

"Kion! Kion, get up, we have to keep moving!"

Kion turned to the source of the sound, and looked on in horror. "Kiara? What – what are you doing here? You were supposed to stay back!"

"We can't stay back," she said. "They won't fight unless we're there with them. Now get up!"

He scrambled to his feet and dragged himself out of the chasm, and blinked at the new sight before him. What remained of their charge had scattered the enemy, forcing them to retreat to the water or throw up earthen bulwarks for fear of being trampled. However, many of the gazelles and wildebeests had simply run right through the enemy lines rather than stay and fight, and now the enemy was regrouping.

Kiara ran up beside him, her eyes stalwart. "Who do we attack first? Crocodiles or jackals?"

Beshti or Bunga _,_ was what she was really asking. But Kion had already failed Beshti once, and could not do so again. "Crocodiles," he breathed. "Let's take out Makuu."

The two of them let out another cry, and the remaining herd rallied to them as they charged towards the crocodiles. The reptiles fled into the water, throwing up waves against them to try and break their charge, but the giraffes strode over the waves as though they weren't even there. Then they came upon the crocodiles and swung their heads like flails, smashing them aside and driving them ever further into the floodplains. At last the water became too deep for Kion's forces to continue, and the two groups faced each other from a distance.

"Not bad, kid," Makuu snorted. "Never thought I'd see the day that crocodiles would be beaten back by a bunch of herbivores. Still, we can go into the water and you can't, and we've still got Ushari while your army is pretty much gone. So I'm gonna go ahead and say that we win this one, kiddo."

There was a ripple in the water that caused Makuu to look around in confusion. Then several tons of angry hippo burst forth and impaled him on foot-long tusks, and Beshti screamed at the top of his lungs while shaking Makuu on his tusks as if he were trying to tear him into pieces. With one last roar he dragged Makuu down into the water along with him, disappearing as if he had never been there at all.

The remaining crocodiles took one more look at the spot where Makuu had vanished, and fled.

"Oh wow," said Kiara. "I don't think I've ever seen a hippo do _that_ before."

"And I never want to see it again," said Kion. "Come on, let's go save Bunga. I don't like that we're not seeing Shupavu anywhere."

No sooner had he said that or the tickbird fluttered back down to his ear. "There you are! Prince Kion, it's the jackals – they've got your friend Bunga trapped behind those walls!"

Kion was just about to ask what he was referring to when he saw the structure that rose up before them. A massive earthen fortress had been erected from the ground as if sculpted from a single piece, spikes of stones jutting in every direction from dark and foreboding ramparts while Jackals howled at them from within. In response, the water rose up around the fortress and washed the last of the panicking herd animals away, until only a handful of giraffes and antelopes remained with Kion. Shupavu appeared at the top of the walls, and with a hiss and a flick of her tongue lightning coiled through the clouds once more.

"Stay behind me," said Kion. "We have to take out that fortress somehow, or this battle is lost." No sooner did he say that, however, or he noticed Ma Tembo and her elephants disappearing ever further down into the mud, trumpeting in fear as the earth threatened to swallow them whole.

"Ma Tembo," Kiara called. "Hold on! We're coming for you!" She turned to Kion, eyes filled with fright and desperation. "We are, aren't we? Kion, we _have to."_

Lightning flashed down from the sky, and Kion pulled on the connection with all his might, willing the lightning to strike the fortress instead. Caught between two competing forces, it struck the earth between them with a crash of light and thunder. Angry red flowers sparked upwards as the lightning gave birth to flame, and almost immediately the fire roared up with an unnatural vigour. The fire pushed towards them, lunging for the few tufts of grass that remained above water as it surged towards Kion and his group.

"Kion," Kiara said again, brushing up ever closer against him as she and the others sought to flee the encroaching flames. "What do we _do?"_

"I… I don't know," he said. The mud was closing over the heads of Ma Tembo and her herd, and the last he saw of them was their eyes staring back at him, pleading – _cursing_ him with their last dying breaths. He tried using the Roar to push the mud away from their trunks, which was the only part of them that still stuck out above the merciless liquid, but it immediately flowed back in again to plug their nostrils.

Kion looked on in despair. _Where did everything go so terribly wrong? What did I do wrong?_

Above him there was another clap of thunder, and Ushari's form appeared in the sky once more, twisting and turning like a snake that was rearing to strike. He did not waste time speaking, did not pause to taunt Kion before he struck, only took the time to make sure that this time he would not miss.

 _Nothing,_ he thought. _There was nothing I could have done._ For that too was a lesson Scar would surely have taught him if only there had been more time. _Sometimes, the enemy is simply better than you…_

He reached out once more, desperately searching for some connection that could help him. He felt Bunga's presence, fading away ever so slowly behind those foreboding walls, and the panicked herd animals beside him who desperately wished they had just run away like the others. He sensed the elephants, sinking away deep into the earth below. And then… he felt another connection, closer. Warmer. It reminded him of home, and safety, and playing together with Bunga in the morning sun when he was just a cub. It smelled of flowers, and of hope.

 _"_ _It's mother,"_ Kiara cried out, even as the tickbird fluttered around his head excitedly. "And the lionesses. The queen has returned!"

Kion opened his eyes, and smiled. There, at the top of Flatridge Rock, Queen Nala and her huntresses had returned from the Outlands at last – lined up along the horizon with the golden sun behind their backs. They charged down the hill as one, only a single cheetah and a lone hyena managing to stay ahead of them as they ran. Above them, a white egret fluttered overhead, directing them all with panicked shouts.

"It's Ono," he said, "and Fuli, and Jasiri!" He grinned despite himself. It truly was a beautiful sight.

The snake in the sky hissed as it turned to lash out at them, but this time Kion was ready for it: He _roared_ at the stone fortress, launching Shupavu into the air, and pulled sharply on the connection between her and Ushari – lashing them together. The lightning struck the skink with a deafening clap, and the skink fell out of the sky as a blackened husk. There was a howl from inside the fortress as Ushari's connection instantly shifted again, but now the snake had only one lieutenant left to channel his power. Kion roared at the same time as Jasiri did, and together they tore at the fortress until cracks appeared all along the earthen walls.

"Come on," he cried, shoving the flames away from his group almost as an afterthought. "Let's go save the elephants!"

The lionesses leaped over the walls of the fortress with flawless grace, roaring in unison as they pounced at the frightened jackals lurking within. Kion ran underneath them as they leaped, rushing towards the sinkhole where the tips of the elephants' grey trunks were swiftly disappearing. He _roared,_ and at first he despaired to think it would not be enough, but then he felt a second force adding to his own as Jasiri joined up with him. The two of them tore fresh cracks into the earth and forced the mud to flow away into the river, and at last a herd of great grey shapes emerged from the deadly trap, coughing and spluttering all the while.

"Thank you, Prince Kion," their matriarch said, still coughing up mud. "For a moment, I thought it was all over, but then you and your…" she looked again. "Is that… a hyena?"

Jasiri smirked. "You Pridelanders really have excellent observational skills, anybody ever tell you that?"

Kion smiled despite himself. "I think what Ma Tembo is trying to say is _thank you,_ Jasiri, for coming to our aid even though we're not your responsibility. And thank you, Ma Tembo, for agreeing to fight for me." He turned away, ashamed. "You trusted me, and I nearly let you and your tribe die…"

"That – that is quite all right," said the elephant, looking at her herd as if she were counting them all, though she was probably just shocked at the fact that they were all still alive. "But, if it is all the same to you, Prince Kion, I would much rather prefer not to do that again."

"You got it," said Kion. "Jasiri? Wanna go see how the others are doing?"

"Sure," said Jasiri. "They're pretty useless without us, after all." She bumped shoulders with him, causing him to blush and stumble in surprise. "Good thing I showed up when I did, huh?"

 _"_ _Ahem,"_ a voice sounded above them. "I like to think _some_ of us might have had something to do with that, Miss I'm-running-off-to-the-Outlands-by-myself. I mean, that was more Fuli than me, but…"

"Ono!" He looked up at the white heron, who seemed no different from when he had left. "It's great to have you back. I uh, may have replaced you with one of your fans while you were gone. And I might have sorta gotten your childhood hero killed by accident. Sorry about that."

Ono blinked. "I… have fans? Wait, _Hadithi the Eagle_ was here? And he's _dead?"_

"It's been a crazy few hours." He rattled off a hurried explanation as they ran back towards the earthen fortress, which by now had mostly collapsed back into the earth. As Kion leaped on top of the crumbling ramparts, he saw that only the leader of the jackals was left standing, clutching an irresponsive Bunga between her paws as she faced off against a circle of very angry looking lionesses.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer – I've got your friend!" She gave one of the jackals lying behind her a sharp kick with her hind leg. "Get _up,_ Goigoi! The plan's gone south – time to leave and start over somewhere far, far away from here. Come on, Goigoi! This is no time to be sleeping."

"I don't think he's getting up again," Fuli said coolly. She slinked up onto the wall next to Kion with feline grace. "And neither is your pack. Hand over Bunga, and maybe we'll let you be the exception. _Maybe."_

"Look, this is all a big misunderstanding," said the Jackal. She jumped back as one of the lionesses snapped at her, though that just brought her closer to the teeth of the next one. "It was that snake who tricked me! It was Ushari – he promised me power in exchange for… I mean, he said he'd bring justice to the Pridelands. I just…"

"I've heard enough," said Queen Nala, stepping into the circle. "Reirei, you deliberately attacked the Pridelands for the sake of simple greed. Surrender, and face the king's justice."

Reirei snarled at her, apparently not putting much stock in the concept. "You think you have me? Back off, lioness – I still have the power of a god on my side!" She looked to the sky and began murmuring, still clutching Bunga like a shield. "Are you there, Ushari? It's me, your servant. I was always loyal to you – I'm the only one who hasn't abandoned you!" Above her, straining with the effort to make the match work, the clouds began to blacken and roil once more.

"Enough of this," said Kion. He turned to his companion. "Fuli, think you can get to her in time?"

She raised one eyebrow at him. "What's my name?"

"It's Fuli," he began as she leaped from her perch, dashed past the lionesses and ripped Reirei's throat out, "-the Fast. _Holy shit."_

She spat the bloody lump out and grinned at him. "Damn straight I am."

Kion did not answer however, for Bunga had collapsed into the dirt, and all of the worry that he had been suppressing rushed to the surface once more.

He ran over to his friend's side, and confirmed his worst fears: Bunga's slouched and loose skin had been burned and blackened by fire, and although his lithe body had weathered the worst of the fall, there were still claws and talons sticking into him that must have pierced all the way through to his vital organs.

The boy grinned weakly at him, unable to move from where he lay. "Hey Kion… why the long face?"

"That doesn't work," Kion said. "I'm not a horse." He shook his head, wanting nothing more than to look away. "I'm sorry Bunga, I shouldn't have sent you out there by yourself. I'm a terrible commander."

One by one, the others were joining them. Fuli, stepping gingerly closer, her cocky grin fading away only to be replaced by a look of shame. Jasiri too wore a serious expression, the kind Kion had only seen on her before when her family was involved. Kiara and the tickbird were there as well, watching silently. Even Ono looked horrified as he landed, for all that he and Bunga had never gotten along.

"It's my fault," whispered Jasiri. "If I hadn't run off like that…"

"Don't worry about it," said Bunga. "Zuka Zama, am I right?" His grin was strained, as though it was taking all of his willpower to keep it up. "I mean, it's not like any of this is gonna last, right Kion? We're enlightened, immortal warriors. We can't ever actually _die…_ right?"

"Yeah," said Kion, forcing a smile. "That's right. Just hold on. As long as we've got a connection, you can always just… hold on." He grabbed Bunga's paw, and squeezed tightly.

For a moment, it was silent, none of the others daring to say anything as Kion sat there with Bunga in the midst of the ruined earthen fort, its broken wreckage slowly falling apart and drifting away on the waters at the foot of Flatridge Rock.

"Hey… hey Kion?" The boy's grin faltered at last. "I'm scared."

Kion closed his eyes, and said nothing.


	19. King of Kings, part 1

**_A/N:_** I realize it might be getting pretty confusing at this point what the Roar can and cannot do, so let me just quickly recap Kion's current understanding for the readers:

There is one single underlying principle behind magic: Connections.

1) Enlightenment gives you power by essentially forming a connection to _yourself_.

2) You can then control the elements through your connection to the world around you.

3) With enough training you can sense other enlightened animals, communicate and even share your power through your connection to them.

4) Upon death, you can use your connections to the living in order to tie yourself to this world.

That's it! Pretty elegant system, no? That's something I love about rational fiction: You get to take very simple basic rules to tell a very complex story, by seeing how those rules logically interact with the world and then allowing them to be exploited by the characters who know them.

* * *

 _"_ _Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"_

* * *

Kion stayed there for a long time, sitting next to Bunga and then lying next to him when sitting became too tiresome, never speaking a word nor letting go of his paw.

Distantly, he became aware of another set of paws approaching him from behind. "Leave us," said the queen. "Let me talk to my son."

There was the sound of other animals retreating: His friends had stayed close by, then. That was reassuring, he thought, though in truth he did not know how he felt about anything anymore.

"Kion…"

"I know," he said. "It's not my fault he's dead, and I shouldn't beat myself up over it. It's okay to grieve, but I can't stay here forever. It's still not safe here, and we need to move on."

He turned to look at his mother, who if anything looked even more pained for having heard him say those words. "You were always the mature one," she sighed. "Wise beyond your years, even though you're the youngest. Sometimes, I think it's you who should have been the heir."

"Don't say that." He forced himself not to look back at Bunga's body. "Kiara was really heroic, too: I couldn't have done any of this stuff without her. She'll be a great queen one day."

Nala smiled wanly. "I'm very glad to hear you say that."

Kion stood up and stretched his aching muscles. He felt more drained than when he first lay down, somehow. "I'm going after dad and granduncle Scar," he said. "And I'm taking the Guard with me."

"I'll come with you."

He shook his head. "You're needed here. Mum, we nearly lost the Pridelands just now: We promised the herd animals that we would protect them in exchange for letting us hunt, and instead I made them fight. If you abandon them now, they'll all leave. There would be nothing left for us."

She frowned, the lines on her forehead taking on an uncharacteristically stubborn look. "Take your grandmother with you at least. The lionesses-"

"…are needed to protect you and Kiara if Ushari attacks again." He walked up to the rest of his companions, who had been staying as close as possible while still keeping up the pretence of privacy. "This fight is between Ushari and the Guard."

"What about me?" Jasiri cocked her head. "I'm not a member _of_ the Guard, now am I?"

"You are now." Kion dipped his paw into the mud, and pressed it against his friend's left shoulder. "Jasiri, you came to the Guard's aid in our time of need, even though you had every reason not to. You, who would mock the gods and laugh in the face of danger, I name the Bravest of the Pridelands."

"Oh, a muddy paw print," said Jasiri, letting out a wry laugh. "That's nice. Shouldn't I be the strongest in the Pridelands, though? I feel like I could easily bowl any of you over…"

"Beshti isn't dead," said Kion. "Let's go."

There was some mild protest from Fuli as well as from his mother, but Kion was already moving. _Momentum,_ he reminded himself. _As long as I just keep moving, I can keep my balance…_

The three of them carefully made the descent down the steep cliffside of Flatridge Rock, taking care not to trip and roll down the rocky slope as they met up with Ono at the bottom. Spraining a limb now after everything that happened would just be too stupid… yet at the same time, it would almost seem appropriate.

"Hey," said Ono, trying very hard to sound casual. "So uh, now what? What's the plan, Kion?"

"We head into the Outlands, and find Scar and dad before Ushari does. I can use my connection to trace them – I've been getting a lot of practice with that, lately." Left unsaid was that if it came to it, he would be able to track Ushari instead. His mood darkened at the thought.

"Right," said Ono. "I'll just… scout ahead then, shall I? Make sure we don't get ambushed, and all that…"

Ono hurriedly flew off, and then it was just Kion walking together with the two girls. He sighed, and turned to face them, ignoring the worried looks on their faces. "So what happened out there? Did Janja attack your clan, Jasiri, or was it really just a diversion like we thought?"

"It was just a trick," said Jasiri. "Fuli said she suspected as much when she caught up with me, but I didn't believe her, so she found a bird and sent it on ahead to prove it to me. We then turned around and met Ono and your mother along the way..." She looked away, abashed. "I never really knew your friend, Kion, but I still carried him all the way back from that volcano. I remember thinking what a nuisance Pridelanders were, even when unconscious. Hard to believe he's dead after surviving all of that…"

Fuli slowed down until she was walking alongside the two of them. "Kion, I'm sorry. We should have been there for you, but we all just ran off and left you and your sister all alone when you needed us most. We… I should have been faster. I shouldn't have stopped to catch up with Ono first. If I'd just…"

"Stop," said Kion, rubbing his forehead with one paw. "Why are you saying all of this? The two of you didn't just run off randomly: Jasiri went to save her family, and you and Ono went to get help because I asked you to. And Bunga was your comrade, too, so stop acting like all of this only relates to me."

"Well yes," she said, hesitantly. "But you were the one who was closest to him. We all know that, Kion."

He stared hard at the ground ahead of him as he walked. Somehow, her words were only making him angrier, and he thought he knew why.

"Bunga was a loon," he admitted at last. "I didn't really think about it when we were younger, but I guess we all figured that one out eventually. However, he was also the youngest of us, and kids are always kind of like that, aren't they? Imagining themselves to be immortal, heads full of heroism and never thinking twice before they act…" He looked away, unable to face his friends any longer. "You were right all along, Fuli: I should never have invited him into the guard."

Fuli looked about to say something in reply, but Jasiri let out a loud and mocking laugh. "Seriously? Kion, do you know what the initiation ritual is for when a young new hyena joins the clan? We all take turns biting him and beating the crap out of him until he either dies or rises in rank – and the only way for a male hyena to rise in rank is if another male leaves or dies first." She gave him a contemptuous look. "You named Bunga the bravest animal in the Pridelands, and as I understand it he went out like a hero. You should respect that, instead of insulting his memory by second-guessing yourself now."

Kion stared at Jasiri for several long seconds, and then he shook his head and laughed. "You hyenas are really messed up; did anyone ever tell you that?"

Her grin seemed to falter, but then she settled for a wry smile instead. "I know someone who used to say that. Guess I'll finally get the chance to settle the argument with him, once and for all."

"You won't have to do it alone," said Fuli, putting a paw on her shoulder. "You're a member of the Guard now. We'll fight him together."

"Together," said Jasiri, seeming to mull it over. "Huh."

Kion gave the cheetah a curious look. "What is this now, coming from you? What happened to going your own way?"

She shrugged, withdrawing her paw. "It got old."

They traversed the wastelands a while longer, the scenery growing ever bleaker around them as they left the Pridelands behind. It did not take long for Ono to swoop down and join them once more, sounding a cry of alarm that was almost reassuringly familiar by now.

"Everyone, there's a sand storm on the horizon! It's directly on the path to where Kion said he could sense Scar and King Simba. It looks like they're fighting, but I can't tell who they're up against."

"Janja," Jasiri said immediately. "And Shenzi, if she's still alive. There's no way he'd stand a chance against someone like Scar all by himself."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Kion. "Ushari was channelling power through his lieutenants throughout our battle: If Janja is Ushari's last remaining lieutenant, then chances are he'll be a lot tougher than you remember."

"Looks like the storm is coming from the direction of the volcano," said Fuli, squinting at the horizon. The black clouds were still looming over that part of the Outlands, coating the entire region in a thick layer of soot. "Who's willing to bet that Ushari went and made it into his new secret lair?"

"Now you're starting to sound like Bunga," Ono joked, before wincing like he instantly regretted it.

"Yeah," said Kion, smiling wryly. "I doubt even a snake like Ushari can survive in a wasteland like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he's harnessing its power somehow though – there's definitely something _off_ about everything Ushari has been able to do all of a sudden." A dark suspicion had begun to form in Kion's mind ever since he felt the presence of that blinding golden light, but it was too soon to be certain. _It looks like we're fighting the demons of our past, either way._ Out of all of them, it seemed Ono was the only one who did not have a personal stake in things, since he had never even liked Bunga.

But perhaps that was unfair. After all, if it was personal for them, then it was personal for Ono too.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go save the day."

They all picked up the pace, rushing towards the scene of violence. The cloud of dust was close enough now that all of them could see what was going on with their own eyes: The desert itself seemed to have risen up against the lions, as the sand swirled like a vortex around the lone silhouette in the centre.

"Something is wrong," said Kion. "I can sense two enlightened beings, but neither of them is Scar." He cursed under his breath – he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"I can sense just one," said Jasiri. Then her eyes lit up in realization. _"Janja."_

"I'll go on ahead," said Fuli, and before Kion could object she had already zoomed off. Ono looked between Kion and her, visibly torn in deciding what to do.

"Well go on then," Kion said with a sigh. "Try and stop her from doing anything too boneheaded." _So much for our new and profound appreciation for teamwork._

 _"_ _King Simba!"_ Fuli rushed off into the vortex even as Ono called for her to slow down. "Take my paw!"

"Janja is trying to bury him," Jasiri realized in shock. "Just like Ushari did with the elephants. Come on!" The two of them _roared_ at the swirling maelstrom, which was so vast it nearly touched the looming ash clouds behind it. Together they blew most of the sandstorm away, but beneath it the King could be seen desperately struggling as despite all his efforts the whirlpool of sand was dragging him down into the earth. Fuli vainly tried to reach him, but when she saw Kion she abandoned her attempts and ran up the newly formed dunes instead, charging at a second dark silhouette that seemed to be watching them all from above.

"Dad! Hold on!" Kion had to stop himself from rushing into the swirling chaos, as he surely would have been dragged down along with his father. Instead, he focused on the rock that the king was trying to clasp onto and _roared_ at it with all his might. He could feel Jasiri's strength being added to his own, and together they launched the rock into the air, king and all. He directed the kingly projectile into the sand dune next to him, before pushing up the sand to catch his father and cushion his fall like a desert pillow.

The resulting crash threw up another fountain of sand, and Kion and Jasiri were left coughing and spluttering as they searched the vast dunes for the royal lion. They found him in a decidedly dishevelled state, bleeding from where the sand had scoured him but seeming otherwise more dazed than injured.

"Son?" He blinked up at them from where he was lying on his back, trying vainly to struggle back to his paws. "Is that you? And… Jasiri?"

"Huh, first time someone doesn't address me as hyena," Jasiri said with a smirk. "This must be that royal etiquette I've heard so much about. I have to admit, I rather like it."

"Not now, Jasiri," Kion snapped. "Dad, what happened? Where's Scar?"

"We were chasing Janja, but it turned out to be a trap," the king said, finally managing to get his paws to support him. He tried to brush his tangled mane back in place, revealing the scorched lines that had marred his forehead ever since his possession by King Ahadi. "Is your friend going to be all right?"

They all looked up to where Fuli was running circles around the dark silhouette while dodging the blasts of wind that were directed at her. At last she leaped at him, pouncing with a speed that was almost too fast for the eye to follow, but the silhouette simply raised up a ring of sand around him and blasted it outwards in every direction at once. Fuli went flying and rolled down the dunes at breakneck speed, before coming to a halt not too far away from where they had dug out Simba. The silhouette took one last look in Kion and Jasiri's direction, and disappeared in a swirl of sand and blackened ash.

"Go help her," said Kion, motioning towards Fuli. As Jasiri and Ono went off to dig Fuli out of the sand he addressed his father once more. "Dad, you said you were attacked – who did it? And is Scar still alive?"

"He's fine," Simba said irately. "So am I, if you were wondering. We traced Janja all the way here, but it looks like he found help, because he was suddenly far stronger than before. Scar started yelling something about how another of his followers must have betrayed him, and then he ran off and shouted at me to meet up with you and head back to the Pridelands while he took care of things."

Kion felt his jaw slowly distending. "Scar said _what?_ You're telling me he went off to fight Ushari by himself? No, what am I saying, _of course_ he did. How else is he supposed to get himself killed, with the rest of us getting in the way of his suicide attempts? That _stupid_ , self-destructive, narcissistic old fool!"

"That he is," the king sighed. He brushed some of the sand out of his fur in a vain attempt to regain some of his wounded dignity. "Regardless, it seems Janja must have circled around somehow, because he caught me by surprise." He looked up sharply. "Son, I appreciate you saving me, but what in the Pridelands are you doing out here? And how come Scar knew that you were coming, but I did not?"

"Oh, don't even start with that," Kion muttered. "It's not _my_ fault if he's more sensitive to my messages than you are." He turned in the direction of Fuli, who had just been dug out by the others and who was now half-limping in Kion's direction. He growled at the sight.

"Damn it, Fuli – you only _just_ said you were done with your 'my way' crap. That was _five minutes ago!"_

"Hey, I saw an opportunity and I took it – there's no point in having the Fastest in the Pridelands on your team if you don't trust her to follow her instincts." She bowed her head before Simba, not quite managing to keep an impudent grin off her face. "Your majesty."

Simba glanced irately in Ono's direction, who hurriedly flew out of the way as if he was afraid he would end up being blamed for this whole situation – which was not too unrealistic, Kion considered, given how his father had originally ordered Ono to keep the Guard in check. At last the king let out a long sigh, and visibly deflated. "All right. In that case, I want the Lion Guard…" He seemed to notice Jasiri's paw mark for the first time. "You're a member of the Guard now, too?"

"Yes sir," she said, managing to sound at least a little deferential. "I'm afraid I'm replacing Bunga."

Simba's royal visage grew another line of worry as he glanced at Kion, who pointedly did not look back. "I see. Well, in that case, Lion Guard, I'm commanding you to follow Scar into that giant stone structure and save him before he can get himself killed. Also, I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

"Of course, father." He somehow managed to make it sound as if it had never occurred to him to say otherwise. "Please just make sure to – wait, Scar went into a giant stone structure? What?"

Simba pointed in the direction Janja had disappeared off to, and now that the sandstorm had died down they could finally make out what must have been in front of them the entire time: There was a massive, triangular structure made up of stone slabs stacked on top of each other right in the middle of the desert, each slab smaller than the last so as to create a stepwise structure that tapered to a point at the very top. In the very centre of the lowest slab a gaping black hole served as an entrance, beckoning them.

"Okay," said Kion. _"What in the Pridelands?"_


	20. King of Kings, part 2

"Could be an illusion," said Jasiri. "He's shown he can do that sort of thing before, with his giant snake-in-the-sky display."

"That was just a lightning bolt shaped like himself though," said Kion. "Then again, he did use spirit-sight to give us all a vision of his speech before that. Fuli?"

"Looks real to me, and I don't have any spirit-sight at all."

"Same here," said Ono, flapping alongside her. "It looks like someone pulled a giant stone structure straight out of the desert, and I'm the Keenest of Sight, so… you know."

King Simba sighed deeply, rubbing his brow with a paw. "I'd love to believe that none of this is real, but I doubt we'd be that fortunate at this point. And real or not, I definitely saw Scar enter this place."

"Right," said Kion. "That's what I figured. In that case, I'm going in first. There could be an ambush waiting for us in there, or – I don't know. General badness."

"I think badness is pretty much guaranteed at this point," said Fuli, slinking in after him. Day turned to night as they entered the stone causeway, and her green eyes gleamed in the darkness. "What do you think, Kion? Any chance of us encountering the dreaded Zimwi in here?"

"Fuli, at this point, I'm not ruling it out." His voice echoed strangely against the smooth stone walls, which he could only imagine had been carved out of solid rock with the power of the Roar. He flicked his claws but failed to produce more than a few sparks. _Looks like my power to create light left me with Ahadi._ He was not sure how he was going to fight Ushari without the help of the Kings of the Past, but it was not as if he had much of a choice.

"Smells old in here," said Fuli, squeezing in beside him. Her soft fur brushed up against him as they stood side-by-side in the narrow opening, and the whiskers poking against his nose made him want to sneeze.

"Yeah – I'm guessing this place was carved out a long, long time ago, most likely by one of Ushari's serpent kings." He rubbed his nose with a paw. "Fuli, it's not that I mind, but… do you mind?"

She grinned at him. "Sorry."

He rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well that she would not be able to see it. "Well, if there _was_ an ambush they just missed the perfect opportunity, so I guess we might as well all go in now."

They went through the corridor single-file, and Simba only barely managed to fit in even then. Whoever created this passage had not done so with adult lions in mind, Kion reflected. Slowly, their eyes adjusted to the low light, and he began to make out the individual stones around him – though Ono seemed to be having more trouble.

"Egrets were not built for exploring strange tunnels in the dark," he grumbled as he almost flew into a rocky protrusion for what must have been the third time. Eventually he settled on Simba's shoulder, resigning himself to having to rely on the sight of others for once. "Snakes rely on heat-vision and tasting the air with their tongue," he sighed. "Makes sense that they would build a cramped monstrosity like this."

The king scraped his throat. "I hate to tell the Lion Guard how to do their job, but do you think you could make less of an active effort to inform the enemy of our presence?"

"Too late," said Kion, resigning himself. Before them the corridor opened up into a wide chamber, and he could already hear the sound of haunting, manic laughter echoing within. As they entered the cool stone room, which was without light but for a few scattered rays that came in from a crack in the ceiling, he became aware of three presences before him. There, standing before an opening leading deeper into the void, a trio of grey outlines could just barely be made out in the darkness.

"You shouldn't have come here," said the middle presence. His eyes gleamed yellow despite the lack of light. "That's what I told you last time, didn't I? But you never listen, Jasiri."

"Janja." Jasiri filed in along with the rest of the group, taking up position next to Kion. He could feel her fur brushing up against his – course and rough and standing noticeably on edge. "What is this place? Where's your mother? Where's Shenzi?"

The figure laughed in reply, but it sounded nothing like the manic cackling from the shadows by his side, nor the carefree mirth that used to come so easily to Jasiri. There was no joy to it, no relaxation or relief as one would normally expect: It was a sad, mournful sound, like the last gasp of a dying animal.

"Shenzi," he whispered. "Always Shenzi. She really was the only person you ever cared about, wasn't she?"

Jasiri seemed taken aback, for once at a loss for what to say. "She's dead, isn't she? Did – did we kill her? Did she… suffer?"

The answer was more laughter, this time colder and more cruel, and Janja's cackling seemed to blend and combine with the mad giggling of his companions until it was almost impossible to tell them apart.

The wound on Kion's neck, which he had thought to be long healed, began to ache once more.

"Son," said Simba, stepping forward. "Go on ahead. We'll deal with this."

Kion turned to face his father, though there was little point in trying to make out his expression with the chamber as dark as it was. "What?"

"His Majesty is right," said Ono, still perched upon his shoulder. "Ushari has the ability to transfer power to his lieutenants. There's no point in fighting each of his minions in turn: You have to take out the snake himself, or he will just start all of this again the moment he makes his escape."

"Ono, that makes no sense," said Kion, rubbing his forehead with a paw. His old headache was starting to come back to him again. "If Ushari depends on his lieutenants, then that's all the more reason to take them out here and now. In fact, that's so dumb I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear it."

"If Scar dies, we lose any hope of winning," said Fuli. "Go."

"Have you all gone _mad?_ This is what we did last time!" Kion wanted nothing more than to scream at them, to use his roar and impart some sense in them by force if need be. "Zazu _died_ , remember? Whose dead body am I supposed to come back to this time? Ono? Fuli? Will it be you, father?"

"It doesn't matter," said Simba, still looking directly at Janja's yellow eyes. "One of the marvellous things about being king is that you do not have to explain yourself. I am giving you an _order_ , captain."

Kion gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"Yeah, I don't think so," said Janja, stepping between them and the exit. "There you lions go again – looking down on us hyenas, refusing to take us seriously, like we're the butt of some bad joke. How many of you have I got to kill to get you to realize I'm a threat?" His eyes passed over the group, eyeing each of them in turn. "Nah, who am I kidding? I only want to kill one..."

"Janja," Jasiri said, swallowing. "We don't have to fight. We've fought so much already. I'm _tired_ , Janja."

"Oh, tired, are you? Gotten bored with me at last?" The light in Janja's eyes flickered again, and though Kion might have imagined it, he thought there was the faint sound of whispers at the very edge of hearing, coming not from any of the three hyenas but from a space just behind Janja's head. "And that after all that time you spent pushing me around, just to show off how much stronger you are than the matriarch's son." He looked away in disgust. "I can't believe I loved you, once."

For the first time Kion could remember, Jasiri seemed truly shocked. "Love? No, what are you saying? You didn't _love_ me. You were into me, sure – and I'll admit it was fun while it lasted, but…"

Janja ground his teeth, loud enough to be audible in that grey and empty room. "There's something _wrong_ with you, Jasiri. Something's broken that stops you from caring about other people. I used to hate you for that, but I'm starting to think it's not your fault: It's this whole bloody world, in which we've got to eat each other to survive, that made you into what you are…" He stalked closer, and for one second the scattered rays of light that poured in from the crack in the roof touched upon his face and revealed a humourless smile. "Still, I'll make sure that you feel something genuine, one last time."

Jasiri grinned weakly back at him. "What, are you gonna make me feel _scared_ , Janja? Are you gonna make me beg for mercy?"

"No." The smile vanished from his face. "I'll grant you your dearest wish and show you the person you care about so much." The whispers were becoming clearer now, roiling off him too loudly to ignore, and Kion realized in horror that it was Shenzi's voice whispering into his ear. "Do you hear that, Jasiri? There she is; Ushari's gift to me. She frankly drives me nuts, but I'll make sure at least one good thing comes of it: In the very last moment, right before I watch the light leave your eyes, I'll let her take over – so that if nothing else I at least get to see the look on your face as you finally realize that the only person you ever cared about _wants you dead."_

Jasiri recoiled in horror, but before she could respond Fuli stepped between her and Janja. "Okay, yeah," she said, "we're _definitely_ not letting you fight this guy alone. Jasiri, why don't you go on ahead with Kion while the three of us take care of bad-breakup boy over here? I promise I'll make it quick."

Janja laughed; horrifying broken, humourless laughter, and his shadows laughed along with him. "Oh, that's pretty funny! You ought to have been born a hyena, Fuli. You really should stay here with us… _forever!"_

With the last word he _roared_ , though it still came out sounding broken and twisted. The sound slammed against the walls and reverberated throughout the structure until the very ceiling shook from the onslaught. One by one the stones above them broke loose and fell towards them, far too many and far too quickly for it not to have been planned in advance, and Kion only barely managed to leap out of the way. The stones crashed behind Kion and shattered into a cloud of dust and fragments, filling the air until it burned his lungs like fire, and he had to drag himself to a corner of the room to recover.

There was a crash on the other side of the room, which was separated by the ruined ceiling which had collapsed down the centre. He could just barely make out a group of silhouettes fighting on the other side, hurling rocks at each other and hastily stacking up piles of rubble in defence. A pair of shadows was dancing amidst the chaos, laughing and cackling as they tore apart the fortifications in front of them, until a slim figure swooped down on them from above while another pounced on them from behind.

The largest of the defenders remained right in the centre of the room, staring down the final shadow, which by now had become almost indistinguishable from the dust and darkness that surrounded them. The defender turned and seemed to look directly at Kion, for all that he must have been near invisible himself.

"Scar is alone," Simba whispered, barely audible above the fighting. "You must save him. Go."

Kion cursed and ran, dashing towards the passage and further into the structure before any more rocks could fall down on him. The corridor turned and twisted, and at first Kion thought himself lost, but then the passage straightened and he could hear the sound of new fighting further ahead. He pushed himself through the narrow corridor, every step filling him with a thickening sense of dread.

The pressure inside his skull grew with each passing moment.

At last he emerged into the central chamber, and he blinked against a sudden light that filled the room. Right there in the centre of the hall was another triangular structure of stone steps that led all the way to the very top of the sloped ceiling, and atop its peak stood a glowing brazier. A single plume of crimson smoke wafted upwards, and outlined against its baleful red light was the silhouette of a coiled snake.

The silhouette lashed out, and in response there was a crash at the bottom of the stairs where a lone figure had been making its way upwards. A sudden wind whipped against Kion's mane as currents were drawn in from hidden tunnels to beat and rage against the lion on the steps. In response the creature let out a low growl, more of frustration than fury, and the whole structure shook with his efforts. The stone steps trembled beneath the figure at the top, and for one moment it looked like the snake would teeter and fall off, but then he found his balance and hissed back at Scar. The stones shattered between them as the two titanic forces clashed and vied for dominance, and finally a whole section of the structure broke off from the pressure, crumbling and burying the lion beneath an avalanche of shattered rock.

 _Scar…_

The snake let out a long, hissing sigh. "If it were anyone else I would say that's the last anyone saw of him, but in this case I don't dare to think myself so lucky." Ushari looked in Kion's direction, and instantly his headache redoubled, seeming to explode out of his skull. "What do you think? Are you impressed with my people's work?" He bobbed his head as if to indicate the area around them, and for the first time Kion realized that the stone pillars in the corners of the room were not pillars at all: They were stone statues, shaped and carved to look like animals standing on their hind legs as they held up the roof. There was a cobra, a crocodile, a lizard and a strange ape-like creature that was too eroded to make out its features. "It's inspiring, isn't it? To think that these wondrous creations lay buried beneath the sand all this time, while oblivious animals trampled over it thinking of nothing but their next meal…"

Kion clenched his teeth, forcing himself to bite through the pain in his head to look at his opponent. "I suppose it _is_ pretty impressive, to think what people are capable off when they're not busy running for their lives as you flood their land, burn their homes and slaughter them by the dozens."

It was impossible to make out Ushari's expression from that distance, but Kion somehow doubted he looked impressed. "Ah yes, because you care about your people _so greatly_ – when you are not eating them, that is. Then again, I suppose your servants do their best to ease your pain by reducing them to unrecognizable chunks first."

Kion grimaced as the image of dead wildebeests flashed before his eyes once more – though it was replaced just as quickly by that of slices of veal being fed to him by Fuli. She was purring softly as she licked the blood off his fur.

"Yeah, all right," he said. "But I seem to remember that snakes eat lizards and skinks, don't they? That must've put a bit of a damper on your friendship with Shupavu. She died too, by the way, on account of the war you started. Just like everyone else who put their trust in you."

It might have just been Kion's imagination, but he thought he saw a flicker of emotion cross Ushari's face before he turned back to the brazier that billowed crimson fumes into the air. "Shupavu knew what she was getting into. She fought and died for her captain's cause, just like your friend Bunga did. Honey badgers eat snakes, incidentally, and I assure you that this fact also put a damper on _our_ relationship." He stared into the crimson flames, which flickered and twisted despite the lack of wind. "I realize I should probably just kill you while I have the chance, but I must admit to being morbidly curious: What _are_ you fighting for? It can't just be to keep everything the same, can it?"

"Well, why the heck not?" Kion stepped into the chamber, itching to face down Ushari, but there was little point in trying to cross the distance between them while the snake remained on top of his summit. "All the herd animals ever wanted was for things to remain the same! To have a safe and stable existence, without having to live in fear of the future. Your change has brought nothing but chaos, misery and death – and for what? Just so you can go on believing in fanciful stories about a long-dead past?"

"Those fanciful stories bring _hope_ ," said Ushari, "and it is impossible to live without it." He turned back to face Kion, staring down at him from above. "Do you know what _my_ safe and stable existence was like, Prince Kion? I awoke into a nest of fifty hatchlings; far too many to sustain. When food grew scarce my mother was forced to start devouring us to survive, and I fled the nest in terror. I was forced to slither through the dirt, scrounging for food without limbs, with nothing to sustain me but a story she once told us about a long-gone realm where our kind ruled as kings." He flicked his tongue and let out a low hiss. "What would you have had me do, Prince Kion? Live in fear and worship you lions in the hopes of being eaten last, as Zazu did? If that's all there is to life, then it's better not to have been born at all!"

"And so you would lie to your own people," Kion said, "and tell them everything is going to be new and different this time. But in order to maintain control you have to cut some deals with unscrupulous people like Mzingo and Makuu, so the very worst people inevitably end up being in charge. And then when you're king you'd treat your own kind favourably of course, to make true on your promises, and in the end everything remains exactly the same except for all the people who died and all the needless misery you caused. And then after a while the next person with grand ideas comes along, and the cycle repeats itself."

"Well yes – that's what life is all about." Ushari flared up the wings of his hood, and the light of the brazier behind him cast elongated shadows along the walls, so that a multitude of god-like snakes seemed to stretch out before him. "Everybody dies eventually, but in the meantime you live and fight to pursue your hopes and dreams. And then when you die it starts all over again with the next generation. That conflict, that perpetual clash between competing visions is what makes it all worthwhile. You lions talk a good game about the Circle of Life, to try and justify having to eat others to survive, but you fail to apply it to the one area where it would hurt you: The life and death of civilisations themselves."

"Ushari, that's madness." He took a deep breath to try and steady himself. He could still sense Scar's presence underneath the rubble, and his friends were still alive for all that the sound of fighting had grown more intense behind him, which meant that stalling was still to his advantage. "You'd doom the world to an endless cycle of war and violence, just so you and everyone else can avoid having to look reality in the eye? That's the stupidest, most pointlessly selfish thing I've ever heard!"

Ushari swayed in what was probably intended as a shrug. "Everything we do in life is pointless and stupid, but that doesn't stop us from wanting to do them. Regardless, I did not actually expect to convince you, I was merely curious as to what…" There was a rumbling in the stones beneath him as the whole structure began to shake, and he looked down in bemusement. "Okay, what is he up to _now?_ "

 _"_ _Zira, bathe my enemies in fire!"_

The floor of the chamber burst open as all around them the ground split apart and toxic fumes spewed upwards like geysers. Then Ushari's plinth itself split open as a plume of blindingly bright boiling magma burst into the air like a fountain, and the snake was forced to use a burst of wind to hurl himself away to avoid being melted on the spot. At the bottom of the steps the stones shifted and a ragged Scar emerged, shaking his head free of dust before darting between the plumes of fire and smoke to make his way towards Kion.

"The volcano," Kion said, not quite believing his own voice. "Granduncle, you redirected the Outlands' _volcano_ all the way into this place?" He remembered how much Scar had scolded him for doing so during his own training, and that had not even been on purpose. To fill a room with lava while you were still inside it was a desperate move indeed.

Scar finished his dash towards him, and there was enough fury on his face that Kion momentarily floundered. _"Boy, what are you doing here?_ Did Simba not relay my message? And what in the Pridelands is _he_ still doing here? Go back and tell him to leave this place at once!"

"My father is the one who sent me here," he protested. "He ordered me to help you fight Ushari. And whether you agree with him or not, he _is_ the king."

"Your _father_ is a halfwit child!" Scar turned and roared at the volcano he had created, forcing as much of the lava as possible to pour into the gap which Ushari had disappeared into. At the same time stone ramparts began to rise up in front of Scar in preparation of the inevitable counter attack. "Who do you think has been advising him on the hard decisions, all this time? Who did he turn to when he was in need of an army? Who was it that bailed him out when he did not even dare inform his own wife and mother of the crises he faced?" Scar spun to face Kion, and his eyes burned with an ungodly light. "I will not take orders from someone I remember telling bedtime stories to as a cub!"

Kion flinched, but forced himself to look Scar in the eye. "Granduncle, there's a _reason_ you're not king anymore. In fact, you never really were one. In any case, it looks like you could use the help."

The ground trembled underneath them once more, and this time a golden light emerged from behind the stone ziggurat. A radiant figure rose up up from the lava and the noxious fumes, born aloft by a greater power than wind alone, and in its centre a golden lance began to form.

 _"_ _Get down!"_

The spear of light seared the stone around them, and Kion would have been incinerated on the spot if Scar had not grabbed him by the neck and dragged him behind the newly raised ramparts. All around them the ground glowed an angry red where the light had left its mark.

"It's Ahadi," Kion breathed. "I didn't – I didn't want to believe…"

 _"_ _Listen to me,"_ said Scar. He forcibly turned Kion around, and when he did the look in his eyes was one of purest fear. "There's nothing you can do here. You have to go back and tell Simba to leave, to get the rest of his family and leave the Pridelands. There is a hidden oasis in the desert called Hakuna Matata Falls – Timon and Pumbaa will show you the way." His eyes were almost pleading now. "That boy is all I have left. You have to get him to leave. _Please."_

Kion stared at his granduncle, a strange feeling washing over him in spite of the danger they faced. "Scar, you idiot… you don't get it at all, do you? My father feels exactly the same way! Even if I did go, he'd just tell me to run right back here. For as long as you're in danger, he will never leave."

Slowly, very slowly, the terror drained from the old lion's face, and was replaced by something else entirely. "Then," he whispered, "If that's the case… I cannot lose."

A strange hissing sound was making itself heard from the other side of the ramparts, and Kion dimly realized that Ushari was _laughing._ "And how do you intend to win, master Scar? You, who destroyed everything you ever touched? You, who murdered your own brother and brought starvation to the Pridelands when you ruled, and then trained the very forces that are now setting it ablaze once more?" The golden light flared up, and though Kion knew better than to peek around the corner of their wall he could tell from the shadows that Ushari was floating higher and higher. "The very god of the Pridelands, the supposed great king your kind worships, is on my side! What do you have, king of nothing?"

"Spite," Scar growled as the ground began to tremble once more. **_"Spite and rage!"_**

All around them the lava burst to life as great claws shot forth from the pools of magma that had gathered on the ground, lashing out and tearing at Ushari. Kion watched through a crack in the wall how Ushari sped away inside a sphere of light and wind, but more claws of magma came to life and lashed out at him until at last one of them struck him out of the sky. Ushari instantly recovered and took to the air once more, but the claws latched on to the ziggurat and drew themselves up higher and higher, until finally two molten demonic lions had risen up from the deep to roar their fury at Ushari.

"What," said Kion, swallowing, _"the hell_ are those?"

"Spite and Rage," said Scar. "I just told you. Now come on, we have to move before Ushari launches his counter attack."

Sure enough, not a second after Scar dragged him around the corner Kion could hear their barricades shatter behind them, as Ushari somehow found the time to attack them while evading the molten demons at the same time. After a brief but frantic run through the dark corridors Scar broke apart the wall separating them from the central chamber, creating an opening large enough for him and Kion to hide in while using the rest of the stones to reshape the wall around them as if nothing had happened.

"That won't work," said Kion, still reeling from the madness he had just witnessed. The stones and the darkness were pressing in on him from every side now, and his panting sounded strangely loud in his own ears. "Ushari can sense our presence, I think. After all, I can sense _him._ He'll collapse the whole place on top of us the second he notices."

"If he finds us we're dead regardless," said Scar, opening a small gap in the wall to witness the battle at hand. "Fortunately for us, the red fruit increases one's power at the cost of lucidity, and I doubt Ahadi is making him any saner. Our only chance is to keep up the pressure so he has no time to focus."

"Right," said Kion. He wormed his way to a sitting position, trying not to think about the fact that he was squeezed within a narrow crevice that could crush him at any moment. "In that case, I think I can disrupt his concentration even further. I'll just need a moment."

He closed his eyes and focused. When his father first told him about the Roar, he had described it as a divine gift, but the fact of the matter was that it was one's own talent and connections that gave you power. Just as Fuli was the fastest of their group, the crocodiles had favoured the use of water, and while Ono performed his role as scout Mzingo had served Ushari by hurling down lightning. As for Kion himself… it had been all too easy, thinking that he was just a vessel and that the Roar's power was beyond his control. It was only after he lost Ahadi that he had been forced to rely on his own abilities.

In his mind's eye, he was once again standing besides his father, perched at the peak of Pride Rock as they looked to the stars for answers. He was the only one who had been able to hear Mufasa. And then again, during the battle of Flatridge Rock, he had been the one who could sense Ushari most clearly.

He opened his eyes and beheld the sight in front of him. Empty grasslands stretched out all around him, an eternal savannah that extended into infinity. A sea of brilliant stars shown down from above, and in the centre of it all three ethereal lions were locked in a battle to the death. As he watched, a golden lion was pounced on by a fierce lioness who could only be Scar's paramour and the goddess of wrath, Zira, and he only barely managed to fend her off. At the same time, a lion cub leaped on his back from behind and started tearing into him, and the golden lion screamed out in pain and fury. He twisted his head and snapped at the boy, crushing his fragile body between merciless jaws and tossing him aside like trash.

The lioness _roared_ in an expression of purest rage, and for one second Kion thought he could see the fire that had given her form in the physical world as she leaped for her prey. The two beings clashed, exchanging blow for blow as the heavens rang with their conflict. Yet for all her fury it was clear that the male lion was the stronger of the two, and bit by bit his relentless blows began to wear her down.

Kion squeezed his eyes shut: There was something _wrong_ with the image in front of him, and it was making his headache more painful than ever. He opened his eyes to look again, and saw that the golden lion was not a lion at all, but rather a crimson snake. How could he ever have confused the two?

Ushari was glowing with that same golden aura, but it was coming from elsewhere, reflecting off his scales like the surface of the moon. Kion followed the light back to its source, and found a crater in the midst of the savannah – another thing he would surely have seen before if it had been there when first he looked. A faint golden glow emanated from the pit like the light of a fallen star.

"Ahadi," he called. "King Ahadi, is that really you?"

A deep groaning sound reverberated from the pit. **_"Ahadi is dead. I am no one."_**

Kion stared down into the pit, squinting against the painful light that seemed to be burning straight through his retinas, and realized at last what it was that had been giving him that splitting headache this entire time. It was impossible to make out the form of the creature below, and yet he knew with certainty that it was a pitiful sight to behold.

"No one is no one," Kion said. There was a riddle here, of that he was certain, but he felt oddly reluctant to learn the answer. "What did that snake do to you, Ahadi? What poison did he burn into your veins?"

 ** _"_** ** _Nothing. Only nothingness remains."_** The creature stirred faintly, and seemed to look up at Kion, though it was impossible to tell against the light. **_"Who are you, child? You seem… familiar."_**

Kion found himself staring at the sight – staring down at the strange and wretched creature that he had once thought of as a god, and felt a deep resentment stir within. "You possessed me," he said, disbelieving. "I didn't ask for it, but you gave me power – _used_ me to destroy those hyenas you hate so much. And now you are letting those very same hyenas use you to destroy everything you ever cared about."

 ** _"_** ** _I don't… remember. The chains that bind me are fading. My people have forgotten their pride, and so they have forgotten me."_**

Unbidden, Kion's vision of Mufasa returned to him once more. _"My son, you have forgotten me…"_ He still remembered the utter horror on his father's face as he heard those words repeated back to him.

"I've heard that line before," he said, gritting his teeth. "It seems to be a common problem amongst kings: _I haven't failed my people, my people failed me._ Ushari certainly seems to think so, as he throws the lives of his own followers away purely for the sake of his own selfish delusions. It's what Scar did, and now you are doing the exact same thing. You haven't been forgotten; you have forgotten yourself!"

There was a _roar_ of purest rage and agony, but the fallen king could do no more than scrape up against the walls of the pit he had dug for himself. **_"How dare you compare me to him!"_** The burning claws grasped at Kion, and for a moment Kion feared they might reach, but then they fell back lifelessly to his side. **_"No… you are right. I have failed – I have turned my back on my own family. I am… nothing."_**

Kion stared at the fallen king once more, but he could no longer bring himself to feel the same rage as he did before. For the sad truth of wisdom is that even as it increases your power to seek vengeance, so too does it diminish your desire to do so, for it forces you to see the world through the eyes of others.

"You are not nothing," he whispered. "You are Ahadi: King of Kings. You are the morning and the evening sky. Every grunt and snort made by the animals of the Pridelands is done in praise of your existence. When the wind blows and the flowers bloom, they do so for your pleasure."

 ** _"_** ** _Lies. All lies. Lies I told myself to make my existence bearable…"_**

"Then what's the _truth?"_ He wanted to scream at the lion, to beat reality into him with force if need be, but instead he reached out and pulled on their connection with all his might. "Tell me the truth, oh god of light! _What are you really?"_

 ** _"_** ** _I… I am…"_**

Kion was hurled backwards as something _slammed_ into him, and he desperately tried to clamber to his feet even as he rolled across the grasslands. He staggered upright, noting with horror that Ushari had bitten him in the leg and that the deadly poison was already spreading through his veins, only to remember that he was still in the spirit realm and none of this was real. He forced himself out of his vision, and found to his surprise that he was back in the pyramid's central chamber: Scar must have dragged him along by the scruff of his neck, for the crevice they had been hiding in had been reduced to rubble.

No sooner did he blink awake or he fell into a coughing fit as noxious fumes seared his lungs, while the pools of lava on the floor radiated such heat that Kion felt like he would catch fire on the spot. The two molten lions had been beaten back into the earth and reduced to nothingness. He teetered on his paws, his leg still burning with pain for all that the injury had been imaginary, and stared back at his opponent.

"I took my eyes off you for too long," hissed Ushari. He was no longer glowing. "A mistake I never would have made if not for the crimson fumes and that damnable lioness distracting me. However, I still-"

A golden light rose up behind Ushari as something _dragged_ its way from out of the earth, and roared at him with all its might. Ushari flew from the pile of rubble he had been poised on, and collapsed near the bottom of the stairs, burned and groaning.

The golden spectre flickered, but remained there, waiting.

"I don't know what you just did," said Scar, "but well done." He advanced towards Ushari, and seized the snake between his claws. "You have lost. Call your minions and tell them to surrender."

There was a sad, hissing sound coming from Ushari's mouth, and it filled Kion's heart with dread, for it reminded him far too much of Janja's broken and twisted laughter.

"What's so funny?" Scar must have squeezed harder, for Ushari let out a strangled, painful hiss. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because," said Ushari, choking even as he spoke, "back when I was… pretending, to argue with Prince Kion, and letting you prepare your attack… I was lending my power to Janja, and using him to shatter the Guard. I have… already won."

Behind them, the collapsed entrance burst open in a torrent of rubble as Janja and his hyenas entered the room and dumped Jasiri and Simba's motionless bodies onto the ground.


	21. King of Kings, part 3

_"_ _Father!"_ Kion stumbled towards Simba, his front leg still burning with pain from where Ushari had bitten him in the spirit realm. He scrambled across the shattered stone floor and piles of rubble, staying as far away as possible from the oppressive heat of the lava pools, but before he made it even halfway there a sudden blast of wind threw him back against the stone steps of the chamber's central ziggurat.

"Yeah, I don't think so," said Janja, placing his paw on Simba's neck. "The other two were a bit too slippery for us, Ushari, but we got the bargaining chip you wanted. And Jasiri as well I suppose, though I don't see why anyone would want _her."_ Jasiri seemed to struggle in response, but the two giggling hyenas pushed her down once more.

"That's right," hissed Ushari, still scorched and dangling from Scar's claws. "You tried to hide it well, master Scar _,_ but it was still obvious how you truly felt about your _boy_. Now release me, if you wish for him to remain alive!"

But Scar said nothing, as he stared directly at Simba's prone form and the blood that was slowly pooling from his torn and open belly. "…what have you done?"

Ushari followed his gaze to Simba, and slowly his dangling stopped until he hung very still indeed. "Ah," he said. "My, ah, lieutenant might have been a little rough, but I'm sure it's nothing we cannot fix…"

"Fix it," Scar said, emptily. "How? Do you have some kind of healing power which I do not know about?"

Kion stared at the two of them in horror, his heart pounding faster and faster as he was gripped by a terror that was not caused by any poison, real or imaginary. He knew just as well as Scar what such a wound meant: He had been dreading the sight of such an injury ever since his father had told him to go on ahead. And, though it was but a secondary, distant horror, he _knew_ that look in Scar's eyes. Just like the dreaded Zimwi that Fuli had joked about, he recognized it despite never having seen it, though in truth the stories told of Scar were far more terrible than that of any mere monster.

"No," Ushari admitted, "but there is… another way. I know the secret, to eternal life…"

"Eternal life," Scar repeated. "You're talking about the same kind of half-life Zira has. You mean for me to lower my boy into the lava along with the crimson fruit, and bind his essence to me through our shared connection." He gritted his teeth, and Ushari squirmed in agony as his grip intensified. "Do you know what that kind of life is like? Zira and I are bound together, so I know better than anyone: She can never touch me, no matter how close she comes – can never again touch another living thing. She cannot eat, she cannot sleep. At night, she hovers close to me, waiting a silent eternity for the day to come, and then when it does everything is still the same as before!"

"Still better… than nothing…"

"And when I die? What _then,_ snake? How many years do you think I have left until I am able to remember him no longer? Where is your wonderful fix then?" Slowly, all the colour seemed to fade from Ushari's crimson scales, for all that that was physically impossible.

All of a sudden a hurricane of wind blew forth from Janja's direction, and Scar had to twist around and roar back at him to repel the attack. At the same time stalagmites rose up from the earth to impale him, and he only barely managed to leap back to avoid them. Ushari managed to shake himself free in the confusion, though he could do little more than writhe on the ground and gasp painfully.

Janja stepped forward, his two shadows flanking him. "Listen here, lion. I don't give a crap whether you or Ushari becomes king of the Pridelands or whatever, but right now you're in the Outlands and that means you answer to _me._ You don't want your nephew back? That's fine. But if you ignore me again, I'll _kill_ you."

 _Oh Janja,_ Kion sighed. _You never were bright enough to live._

Scar bared his teeth in a rictus grin, and Janja faltered, for once in his life seeming to question the wisdom of what he was doing. After hesitating one more second, he took a hasty step backwards, nearly bumping into his giggling comrades in his haste to get away.

"Listen," said Ushari. He flinched as Scar's gaze bored into him. "There is still… a chance. There is another, final secret, one that could give you unlimited power. Enough, perhaps, to save your nephew from death. Swear to let me complete my plans without interference, and I shall reveal it to you."

Scar looked at him blankly, his expression impossible to read. "And why would you believe any promise of mine? After all, I am the traitor king."

Ushari seemed to shake his head, though it was hard to tell it apart from the swaying of his body. "No… I know you better than you do, master. If being honourable was the only way to save your boy, then, you would choose to _be_ honourable. Of course, you would have to leave me Prince Kion, as insurance."

"I see," said Scar. "How very sensible."

Kion stared at the old lion in horror, not liking that icy gleam in his eyes one bit. "Granduncle, you can't seriously be thinking about this. _They killed my dad!"_

"Be silent, boy." Scar started pacing around, circling the small patch of ground beneath the stone ziggurat that was still far enough removed from the bubbling pools of lava to be safe. "This secret of yours, Ushari – you called it the _final_ secret, implying that knowing it would solve whatever mysteries remain."

"That's right," said Ushari. "Unlimited power, like I said. But decide quickly: Your nephew's life is fading."

"Gut wounds take long to die from," Scar said, still pacing. Ushari's eyes tracked the old lion nervously as he walked. "The greatest part of any secret is the existence of the secret itself," Scar said slowly. "As such I conclude that there is something I could do inside this room which would gain me unlimited power, which is sufficiently obvious for you to realize but which my own bias prevents me from seeing." He stopped near the foot of the ziggurat, staring up at the crimson smoke that still billowed upwards from the brazier at the top. "Tell me, boy – what mysteries would you say are currently _unsolved?"_

Kion started, realizing that he was being spoken to. Looking back on all his trials, where had he felt the most confusion? He was sure he had remarked on it at the time, but now it was difficult to remember. "Spirits," he said at last. "I still don't really get why some animals get to live on as spirits, like Zira, but others such as Zazu don't. I mean, yeah, it's a matter of enlightenment and connections, but that doesn't explain why Mufasa is so weak and yet Ahadi is so ridiculously strong." He looked at his father, who was lying so close and yet so far away, and wondered if perhaps _their_ connection would be strong enough to last through eternity. But then, it had always been easier for him to sense Scar than Simba…

"Ahadi was both King and Captain," Ushari said irritably, though the fear was plain to hear in his voice. "His lifetime was filled with nothing but war: Of course he was strong! That has nothing to do with this."

"Indeed," said Scar. "It was plain to see his hate for the hyenas that slew my mother, as well as the deep well of self loathing which fuelled his will thereafter. Still, the sheer difference in power does seem… _strange."_ Scar turned to look at the faint golden presence that still hovered at the foot of the ziggurat where Kion had pulled it out. "The king and the land are one," Scar said. "My father told me so once, as the two of us lay beneath the stars, though at the time I had no idea what he actually meant by it. The connection which the king shares with all his subjects… united in their power. We are the same."

"Fine," Ushari hissed. "You're right; Ahadi gains his power from his connection to those of his subjects who still revere him as a god. But that does not help you with your current problem one bit. So I _suggest_ you agree to my demands before it is too late!"

But Scar was still staring into the golden light as though mesmerized. "Then there is just one final question," he said. "If Ahadi claims all his power from his subjects because they blindly revere him, yet Mufasa cannot even speak to Simba because he has _forgotten him_ – then who is it that remembers all of Ahadi's malice so clearly, and whose undying hatred still ties him to this world?" He reached out with one trembling claw, and parted the golden halo as if it were his own fur, revealing a sallow lion with a black mane underneath. "Or to put it more succinctly: **_Why does the villain look so much like me?"_**

 _"_ _Attack him,"_ Ushari shrieked, " _attack with everything you have!"_

Janja and his hyenas all roared at once while Ushari's shriek turned into a _hiss_ that sent all the rubble in the chamber hurtling towards Scar even as the ground opened up beneath him and scorching volcanic fumes enveloped his body. The whole structure shook as Scar was buried underneath a tide of fire, stone and wind, and it was all Kion could do to use the distraction to limp in the direction of his father.

"Kion," Jasiri groaned as he approached. "Is Scar…"

"He'll be okay," said Kion. It defied all logic, but he had seen the look in Scar's eyes, and there was not one part of him that doubted that the old lion would emerge from that fussilade entirely unscathed. "Are you all right? Where are the others?"

"I'll manage," said Jasiri, still groaning as she pushed herself to a sitting position. "Fuli and Ono managed to escape, but I'm sure they're still around somewhere." She hesitated. "Your father…"

Kion stared hard at the gaping wound along Simba's belly, which had been exactly as bad as he feared. After a moment's hesitation he pushed his father onto his back, hoping that it would stem the flow of blood and keep his intestines from falling out. Though for all he knew, it would only make things worse.

"I couldn't stop him," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Kion. You were right: We should've just killed Janja and Shenzi when we had the chance. I never should have stopped you – if I hadn't been so arrogant…"

"It's not your fault," he said. Or even if it was, what did it matter? His father would still die, and his sister would become queen. There would be a period of mourning, and then a coronation… and after a while, people would stop talking about him and move on with their lives. But his father would still be dead.

He reached out with a paw and brushed his father's mane out of his face, making him seem just a bit more regal as he lay there. As he sat there and listened to his father's pained moans, Kion thought he finally understood his granduncle's quest to escape death: _"We're all dying. All of us, all the time – but it does not have to be that way."_ His grief had been mixed with anger before, but this time any tears he might have shed were evaporated by a burning hatred that was slowly searing itself into his soul – so softly and gently that he scarcely might have noticed, if he had not been taught to listen to his own self.

From out of the ruins and the devastation, through the smoke and the rubble and the volcanic fumes that had spread all around them, a golden lion rose up to face down his opponents. It was Scar.

"He's not invulnerable," Ushari called out to Janja, his voice choking on the fumes and his own fear. "He has to actively defend against our attacks. All we have to do is prevent him from noticing just one."

A golden beam of light speared downwards, incinerating one of Janja's hyenas and throwing up a cloud of dust as it scorched the ground around it. When the dust settled and Kion's vision cleared, Janja and his last remaining hyena were huddled behind a stone fortification while Scar had landed in front of Ushari and was now dangling the snake from his claws once more.

"Don't just hang there," Janja shouted. "Use your powers!"

 _"_ _I can't,"_ Ushari hissed. "He's using the connection between us to suppress my abilities. You have to distract him somehow: Attack him, enter the spirit realm, _do something!"_

 ** _"_** ** _Ushari,"_** said Scar, and everyone in the room froze. **_"Since you seem to like spirits so much, I shall offer you the same deal you made my nephew: An eternity to spend with me, bound together in hatred, just as I did for my dear father."_** He held the squirming snake out above a pool of lava, which seemed to bubble in anticipation. **_"After all, it has been a while since I offered Zira a new chew toy."_**

"Granduncle," Kion called out. "Don't!"

The bubbles burst as something seemed to _crawl_ out off the abyss, molten talons rising up to catch their prey even as Scar dropped the screaming snake into the demon's open arms. Ushari screamed as the flames enveloped him, and kept screaming even as the talons dragged him under and his body evaporated into nothingness, until only a faint wisp remained to circle Scar's brow.

 ** _"_** ** _Never again will you be alone, my love."_**


	22. King of Kings, part 4

Kion stood up, every fibre of his body shaking at the sight before him. He knew he was looking at Scar, and yet it was _not_ Scar. It was painfully obvious that this was no mere possession – rather, Scar appeared to have made peace with his father in the absolute worst way possible. Just as Kion has come to understand Scar upon seeing Simba's wounds, so too had Scar come to understand Ahadi. The two of them were one.

"What," said Jasiri, "the _hell_ is going on?"

"Honestly, I really thought we had won," sighed Kion. "But I guess that was just more of me being a kid. Ushari might be gone, but the circle of life and death keeps going, on and on and on until someone finds a way to finally stop it."

 ** _"_** ** _You,"_** said Scar, inclining his head towards Kion. **_"Stay there – I will be using my new power to bind you and Simba together. You will then have to teach another to carry on the connection for you after you die, and so go on until eternity. If you fail me, I will know, for I shall also do the same."_** He turned his attention to the hyenas, who were still cowering behind their stone ramparts. **_"Now, as for you…"_**

"Scar." It was Janja's voice that spoke, but something was off: It had sounded too soft, too precise in its intonation. "There's no need to be rash," it continued. "We can talk this out, like reasonable people."

Jasiri jerked upright, but Kion stopped her before she could say anything. Something told him that this was a really bad time for them to be noticed.

 ** _"_** ** _Shenzi."_**

The young male hyena stepped out from behind the stone ramparts, heedless of the golden light that still radiated from Scar like a coat of starlight. "My son is an idiot: We both know that. If you want to punish him, fine. But you can't hold him accountable for what he did under Ushari's control."

 ** _"_** ** _I think you'll find, Shenzi, that I can do whatever I want."_**

She regarded him with half-lidded eyes, seemingly undaunted by the god-like creature in front of her. "True, that _is_ how things are usually done in the Outlands. Brute force is about all these useless creatures understand. But you're not just any animal, are you? You're the king."

 ** _"_** ** _The king,"_** he repeated. **_"Yes, I did call myself that, once. Back when I was competing with my older brother out of jealousy and spite. Back when I sought out the hyenas in fear and desperation, and called them my only friends."_** The golden light flickered and flared anew, and all across the chamber motion seemed to stop: The lava ceased to bubble and pop, while motes of stone dust no longer drifted downward from the ceiling. They remained there, suspended in mid air as if they were just as afraid as Kion to draw their attention. **_"I acknowledged you when I had everything and you had nothing: Offered you a chance to be my equal at the risk of losing all that I had. When there was a drought, I gave you food and water. When I regained my power, I shared it with you. And you still betrayed me."_**

"I did. And you know exactly why I did it." Her eyes flickered in remembrance. "I was a cub born to be a leader, bitter at the failure of the rest of the world to be the way it ought to be, with a people that inspire nothing but disappointment. Manic and unpredictable, never thinking twice or taking anything seriously, refusing to consider what's truly important until it's almost too late." At last her eyes seemed to come into focus, her yellow meeting his green. "Face it Scar: The two of us are exactly the same."

 ** _"_** ** _We are. And I find that I despise you."_** He _roared_ at her, and the world sprang back into motion as Shenzi was hurled into the wall her own son had created. She tried to rise up, but the ground cracked and fell away beneath her, and in moments she was hanging from the edge of a chasm by her claws.

 _"_ _Shenzi!"_ Jasiri tore away from Kion and ran towards her. _"_ Hold – hold on!"

 ** _"_** ** _My father was right about you hyenas."_** Scar watched in disgust as Jasiri helped Shenzi clamber back out of the abyss. **_"You are all the same… unthinking, giggling creatures: A mockery of life itself."_**

"Scar," Shenzi tried once more, though her voice was drained and her eyes were no longer defiant. "I get it if you want to hurt me. If you want to hurt me through him instead, that's fine too. I'll even do it myself, if you like." She closed her eyes. "Just, please, don't kill my boy."

Kion winced. Her use of that word did not seem to him like a good idea, in that moment.

 ** _"_** ** _Kill your boy? Shenzi, I have no intention of killing anyone."_** Scar stepped closer, and the lava cooled and hardened as he approached, seeming to change to black glass beneath his paws. **_"Rather, I will do the same thing as I once did to your brother – or was that your mate? I never could tell the difference."_** Behind Shenzi, the ground rebuilt itself; a thousand stone fragments rearranging themselves to close the chasm as if nothing had ever happened. **_"I will shatter what tiny little minds your son and his companions possess, and then I will find the rest of your miserable species and do the same to them. I will bind you all together into a single spirit, and then at last you shall have the afterlife you always desired: You, as the undisputed ruler of all hyenas, surrounded by your friends and family for the rest of eternity, with naught to listen to but the sound of their laughter – forever."_**

Shenzi stumbled and fell backwards, landing on the ground which had not been there a second before. Yet even as she fell her frantic eyes never left Scar's, for although they were filled with terror they were no longer able to turn away.

"Enough," said Kion. "Granduncle, this is mad. You cannot destroy an entire species! Let alone… _that."_

 ** _"_** ** _Oh?"_** Scar turned to regard him, though his expression was the same no matter who he looked at. **_"Why? Is there something special about destroying the very last of a species that makes it qualitatively different from what you do? You, whose very existence depends on feeding off the flesh of others, and whose sole role in life is to hunt and destroy any who would sneak across the border to do the same?"_**

"That's not the point," growled Kion. "If I hurt someone, it's because I _have_ to, or because I made some kind of mistake. You're talking about hurting people for no reason at all!"

Scar tilted his head towards Simba, who was softly moaning in pain. **_"Not without reason."_**

Kion gritted his teeth. "Listen, granduncle, I get it. I feel the same way! But you can't blame a whole species for the actions of a few individuals."

 ** _"_** ** _A few individuals? Is that what you think?"_** Scar's eyes flickered with a golden sheen. **_"Throughout the generations, hyenas have caused nothing but misery and strife. Why do you think the Kings of the Past never finished them off before? Do you imagine Ahadi was too soft for the task? No, the reason is that we require such conflict to exist: The herds allow us to hunt them because we promise protection in exchange, but if we actually were to destroy their predators then there would no longer be any need for us. That is the cycle of death and destruction that allows you to call yourself Prince."_**

"That, that's not…" Kion floundered. "Look, I don't know about Ahadi or the others, but the reason the Pridelanders call me Prince is because they love and respect my father, just as they loved and respected Mufasa. And I'm pretty sure they didn't do any kind of calculation – they just didn't kill the rest of the hyenas because it felt wrong to kill an enemy that had already surrendered!"

 ** _"_** ** _Naïve. Just because they're not calculating doesn't mean there is no calculation. What do you think happened to Ushari's precious empire? Someone else came along that reduced it to rubble and crowned himself king – and that person might well have been the very first Lion King. Well then, if being born to a legacy of genocide can make you a Prince, I dare say my own actions shall make me King. We'll see who the Pridelanders love more once I've destroyed the ones who eat them."_**

Kion gritted his teeth. "So you're just gonna kill all of the predators, huh? Is that your big plan? So then, after you're done with the hyenas, it'll be the jackals, and then the cheetahs, and finally ourselves?" There was a deep hollowness inside of him, which he would have liked to call anger or indignation, except that he was not all that certain that Scar was _wrong_. Perhaps the world really _would_ be better off without himself and those like him. "What about Jasiri? Are you going to kill my friends, too?"

 ** _"_** ** _I could make an exception, for a select few individuals."_**

"And my family?" Jasiri stood between Scar and Shenzi with her hackles raised. "What about my sister, and her cubs? Do _they_ get to be exceptions, too?"

He seemed to hesitate. ** _"Perhaps. If they agreed not to breed and let themselves die off naturally…"_**

"I'm not going to let you destroy my entire species!"

 ** _"_** ** _Hyena, you're defending the person who just murdered my adopted son right in front of me. I think I am being exceptionally reasonable considering the circumstances."_** Scar turned to face Kion, the golden light seeming to bore straight into his soul. **_"Now, I don't know how much longer your father has to live, so stand down while I bind the two of you together. We'll deal with the rest afterwards."_**

Kion gritted his teeth and braced himself. "I'm not doing a damn thing."

 ** _"_** ** _You'd side with the very same hyenas who murdered your own father?"_**

"I'm siding with what's _right_ ," said Kion, "because doing what's wrong killed my father." The hyenas were slowly circling the golden lion: It was him, Jasiri, Shenzi and her giggling brother against Scar. An impossible, hopeless fight, but he would fight it anyway. "You're not _well_ , Granduncle. Merging with Ahadi has infected you with his madness. Banish him, and I promise I'll listen to anything you say."

The golden lion shook his head. **_"That's why I called you Naïve, boy: I was always like this, right from the very start. But now, I no longer have any reason to pretend."_**

Scar _roared_ , and Kion felt himself flying backwards, his skull blazing with agony even before his body smashed through the nearest pile of rubble. Every part of his being burned with the same pain that he had felt when he first looked upon Ahadi: That blazing headache that radiated sheer _wrongness_. But this time he would not be surprised if all of his bones had been shattered as well.

Distantly, through pained and blurry vision, he could see the battle taking place before him. Somehow, Shenzi was managing to make some kind of stand while the others did their best to keep Scar from finishing her off. Or at least, that's how he imagined it: All he could see was blurry shapes, dancing back and forth amongst the shadows and the flame…

 _"_ _Kion? Are you alright?"_

He tried to get up, but it took all his energy just to tilt his head. There was a blurred shape frantically flapping next to his head.

"Ono?" He blinked, trying to clear his vision. "Is that really you? Where's Fuli?"

"She's trying to sneak in closer to see if she can do something, somehow." Ono settled on the ground next to Kion, trying to hide his frail little body. "I was trying to get to you the whole time, but I didn't want to get spotted by Scar. Kion, what are we supposed to _do?_ We can't fight against a living god!"

"We don't really have much of a choice," he sighed. His gaze wandered off, and he found himself staring at the brazier at the very top of Ushari's ziggurat, from which crimson fumes still wafted.

"The red fruit," he whispered. "Ono, if you can get me some of that fruit, I can use it to increase my power. Maybe use it to disrupt Scar's focus, somehow." Though even as he said that, he knew perfectly well that distracting Scar was an entirely different matter from distracting Ushari. He still remembered how effortless it had been for Scar to defeat him during their sparring sessions.

"Got it," said Ono. He hesitated a moment before taking flight, seeming to want to say something else but not quite managing to find the words. "I won't let you down, Kion."

"I know you won't. And Ono? If you see Fuli, tell her not to do anything brazenly idiotic."

"Will do." He took to the air and vanished almost instantly before Kion's pained and tired eyes.

After a few more seconds of lying there, Kion took a deep breath and tried to get up, but he instantly regretted the attempt. Every part of his body was agony. If he had not suffered any permanent damage, it would have to be a miracle. Resigning himself, he reached out with his mind and searched for those around him instead.

There was Scar, first of all, his spirit blazing so brightly that it eclipsed all others. After a moment Kion managed to distinguish Jasiri's presence as well, her spirit that much stronger now that she no longer hid behind that mocking laugh. Had it really been that short a while ago since they first met?

His father was still lying on the ground behind her. Still in pain.

Fighting beside her were Shenzi and Janja, their souls overlapping. The ones who did it.

And then there was Ono, his spirit as unsteady as his heartbeat, desperately trying to remain unnoticed as he soared to the very top of the ziggurat. His talons gripped the edge of the brazier, but he immediately recoiled as the fire scorched him. He reached in again, stabbing blindly at the smouldering fruit even as his wings smouldered from the heat, until at last he pierced it with his beak. He launched himself off the ziggurat, more falling than flying with his burnt wings as he headed straight towards Kion.

For one moment, Kion allowed himself a stab of hope. Then there was a flash of light and Ono tumbled out of the air and landed in a smoking heap in front of him. A moment later a figure emerged from the smoke and dust and placed a paw down on the red fruit, crushing it with distaste.

Kion did not need his eyes to know who had done it.

 ** _"_** ** _Ono, was it? You were Zazu's spy inside the Lion Guard, as I recall. Zazu was a good friend and ally of mine, before his unfortunate demise. I could use someone to fill his position once I crown myself king."_**

"Apologies, Your Highness." Ono half rose, but he could do no more than cough up ash. He lifted his head in Scar's direction, a resigned expression in his eyes. "But I answer to my Captain, not the king."

 ** _"_** ** _You answer poorly."_** Scar seized him by the tail and flung him aside, smashing his body against the nearest wall.

 _"_ _Ono!"_ Kion tried to rise, but the pain in his chest was too much even for his rage to match. "You… if you were always like _this_ , then I really was naïve!" He let his head fall back onto the stones, staring upwards as he breathed in pained gasps. "But that's just it, isn't it? You're still acting out of blind rage and pain, still hiding your real emotions like you always have. What's the _point_ of it, granduncle? What's the point of being the most powerful being in the world if it changes absolutely nothing?"

 ** _"_** ** _There is no point. There never was."_** Scar turned around and roared at the silhouettes behind him, causing the ground to rise up and rush at them like a tidal wave. **_"Aren't you going to attack me?"_**

"I would very much like to," Kion admitted. "But my chest really hurts."

 ** _"_** ** _I'm sorry."_**

For a moment, Kion was not sure if he had heard him. _"Sorry?_ You just slammed my friend into a wall!"

 ** _"_** ** _He was not truly your friend. He betrayed you."_** A beam of light lashed out from Scar's golden aura, eliciting a strangled scream from somewhere in the smog. **_"All these spies, advisors and lickspittles… none of this would have happened if I had just relied on my own power like Zira always told me to. My best intentions caused more harm than my malice ever did."_** There was a blast of wind that blew smoke and ash in Kion's face, and the next moment Scar had his claws wrapped around the last of the mad hyenas' necks. ** _"Everyone I ever tried to protect is dead or dying, but this? This I can do."_**

"Granduncle, don't."

There was a brief struggle, a few short spasms, and then the hyena fell limply to the ground. Another faint wisp began to circle around Scar's brow, and ever so softly Kion could hear the sound of giggling, echoing from the same place where Ushari's screams could also still be heard.

 ** _"_** ** _I never should have left him."_**

Kion took a deep, ragged breath. "Granduncle, you know this is wrong. You're making the exact same mistake you've already made a hundred times before, and you're too smart not to realize you're just going to regret it all later. So why not just skip ahead and go right to the inevitable conclusion?"

 ** _"_** ** _That would have been good advice, a long time ago. But my conclusion has already been reached."_**

Kion groaned, and slowly let his head drop back onto the stone rubble. As he did so, he noticed a shadow stalking alongside the shattered steps of the ziggurat, sneaking up behind Scar. Renewed panic set his heart racing once more despite his exhaustion, and he transmitted every last bit of it to the faint presence he felt there. _Don't. Don't try it. It won't work._

He squeezed his eyes shut, and it took no effort at all to picture the cocky grin she flashed him in reply.

He opened his eyes, every part of him screaming out to _do_ _something_ before it was too late. "Hey granduncle," he said hoarsely, right as Scar was about to turn his head in Fuli's direction. "What Ushari said about you before – was that true? Could you really have _chosen_ to be honourable, if that's what it took to save Simba's life?"

 ** _"_** ** _Perhaps. I don't know."_**

"Then…" He swallowed. "Then, if that's the case… couldn't you _choose_ a different conclusion? Could you at least try?" Behind Scar, Fuli flattened her ears and lowered her head, her tail swishing ever so softly from left to right as she prepared to pounce. "Could you do it… for him?"

For one second, Scar seemed to hesitate, his focus momentarily lost. It as then that Fuli leaped, a picture of perfect feline grace that seemed to be frozen in time despite her speed. Slowly, Scar turned his head, and her eyes met his for just one instant before her claws reached him. There was a _scream_ and a flash of golden light, and then Fuli came rolling towards Kion, coming to a halt just in front of him. Her soft, yellow-and-black fur has been scorched from head to tail, and she smelled of smoke and burning hair.

 _"_ _Fuli!"_ Kion crawled towards her, not even the searing pain in his chest and limbs managing to stop him this time. The smoke stung his eyes as he poured over her, and he blinked furiously to try and clear his vision so he could see the extent of her injuries.

 ** _"_** ** _Well done."_** Kion lifted his head, and through blurred vision he saw that the golden light around Scar had faded to nothing. Black, matted hair hung down in front of the old lion's face, obscuring the fresh wound from which a steady stream of blood now trickled. **_"Attacking me in the back during a moment of weakness… you really are far more like me than your father ever was."_**

"I didn't," said Kion. "I wasn't trying to..."

Scar turned and walked into the smog, his golden light flaring up anew as he disappeared to where Shenzi and Jasiri were preparing to make their last stand. A few seconds later, the ground began to tremble and groan once more with the sound of their conflict.

"Fuli," he whispered. "What were you thinking?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, her lips twisted into a smile. Her paw opened up, revealing a smouldering crimson powder within.

"Hey Kion," she rasped. "What… what's my name?"

"Fuli," he said, closing his eyes. "Fuli the Foolhardy."

He breathed deeply from the smoke of the crimson fruit, and almost immediately he felt darkness take him. The last he remembered was falling asleep in Fuli's arms.


	23. King of Kings, part 5

_**A/N:**_ _Sorry, sorry! I swear I had this story nearly wrapped up, but then I started writing my other story again on the side and it turns out I'm really bad at multitasking. My only excuse is that I lost my job at the same time, which kind of threw a spanner in the works. But, here it is, for those of you who were still waiting: The climax to the story._

* * *

 _"_ _Help!"_

Kion opened his eyes, and found that he was at the bottom of a deep ravine, shrouded by a fog of dust that choked the lungs and obscured all vision. He knew where he was, for there was only one gorge like this in all the Pridelands, and yet he could tell right away that the scenery was wrong. The dust was too thick, the trees too sparse, the cliffs too barren. It was as if he was not looking at the ravine itself, but rather the impression of one; like a distant memory that was somehow more real than the thing itself.

He took an uncertain step forward, moving through the earthen fog without knowing where or when he was headed. His paws were no longer broken and his ribs no longer cracked, and yet the air still hurt to breathe – hurt him with such cruelty as if someone had put it there just to spite him, as if the sole reason for its existence was to _hurt._

 _"_ _Somebody! Anybody…"_

He found what he was looking for underneath a withered tree in the centre of the valley. The king had draped his father's paw over his body as though the two of them were only sleeping. He was young. Younger, even, than he must have been when it happened, and impossibly small in Mufasa's arms.

"Father? Father, is that really you?"

"Son. I didn't want you to see me like this." The young cub turned away, abashed, as if he had been caught in the middle of some mischief. "I had thought to give you what was taken from me – to show you just a glimpse of what my father would have been had he still been around." He shook his head. "But maybe that was my mistake. Perhaps it would have been easier for you if I had just been myself from the start."

Kion looked at him uncertainly. "Father, what is this place? Where _are_ we?"

"A memory," said Simba. "A connection. The place where magic comes from. Something like that." He looked at Mufasa's body with tired eyes. "Why can't I get him to answer me? If we're in a place of dreams, then surely anything should be possible. Could it really be the case that, purely because he died in my memories, he has to be dead here also? If so, that just seems terribly unfair..."

"Father, you've been here this entire time?" Kion's voice caught, and the pain in his chest grew twice as heavy. "You can't…" He swallowed. "Dad, you can't stay here like this. You have to move on."

Simba chuckled sadly, a wry sound that seemed entirely out of place coming from such a young cub. "I'm afraid it's a little too late for that. My body is slowly dying: I can feel it, even here." He took a deep breath, and as he rose he seemed to grow a little older, and the fog a little thinner around him. "Son, when you wake up, I want you to take your friends and run as far away as you can. I will use the last of my strength to distract Scar while you get away. His rage will wane in time, as it always has, and you'll be able to return to the Pridelands eventually. Kiara will need your support when you do."

Kion gazed at his father, or rather, at the young cub that had turned out to have been his father all this time. There was an incomprehensible anger stirring deep within him, coming from the same place that had also burned when he saw Zazu's body, and then Bunga's, and finally Simba himself.

"You want me to run away," he said. "You want me to run away while you kill yourself, pointlessly, in the _hope_ that maybe somehow Scar will eventually stop wanting to torture all hyenas into insanity."

"Son…"

"You know, Scar once quoted Zazu as saying that hope is what you resort to when you no longer have anything left to believe in. At the time I thought he was just being cynical as always, but now I think I get what he meant. Hope! You're telling me to run away, just so you can convince yourself that your death has some meaning? My limbs are _broken!_ Did you forget about that, or were you too busy mourning your long-dead father to see what was happening to your own son?"

Simba's eyes widened. "Kion-"

"Hope! That was the whole reason Ushari started all of this in the first place. Hope and dreams! He started an entire bloody war, setting the Pridelands alight and killing hundreds, just because he felt he needed something to believe in. When we have access to magic, actual magic! And here you are, giving up on life when we _already know_ it's possible to live forever. How does that make any friggin' sense?"

"Ah…"

"You and Scar and Ushari, all of you kings and sages are exactly the same. Selfish, stubborn, _stupid_ bloody animals, always complaining about how unfair your lives are without ever noticing the miracles that have already come your way!"

There was the sound of someone scraping his throat in the tree above him. "Well spoken, young master. Now if only you could manage to include yourself in that list then I would find myself in full agreement."

Kion froze. There, perched atop one of the branches of the withered tree sat a red-beaked hornbill, staring down at them as though it were the most normal thing in the world. "Zazu? But, how?"

"I suppose I could make some quip regarding aerial flight and the advantages thereof, but I suspect that would be deemed inappropriate considering the circumstances." He held up a blue-feathered wing, examining it as if to confirm his own solidity. "Suffice to say, you have successfully made a connection with my spirit, which I gather happened a bit later than intended. Personally, I suspect it's your newfound appreciation for the particulars of the monarchical system of rulership that did the trick."

"Zazu," Simba said, sounding like he could not quite believe his own voice. "I thought we lost you."

"I was merely misplaced, it seems." He gave the king a curt but friendly nod. "It's good to be back, Sire."

"But Shenzi killed you," said Kion, still reeling from shock. "You died fighting to protect me. We tried to contact your spirit as soon as we could, but there was nothing there for us to find. What changed?"

Zazu gave a feathery shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine, young master. I was not joking when I said that your new insights might be the cause – it is possible that we finally managed to make a connection through our shared frustration with royal inadequacy. Present company excluded, of course."

"But you had no awareness of anything that was going on until just now, right? How could I possibly have made a connection with someone who didn't even exist at the time?" Kion remembered arguing as much to Scar back at Pride Rock in what now seemed like such a long time ago. If he had been wrong about that, then...

He choked out a laugh. "Father, do you realize what this means? All this time, we thought the Roar could only be used to tie yourself to the world and prevent your spirit from dissipating in the first place, but if this is true… dad, we might not have lost yet! We might not have lost anyone, or anything, ever at all!"

Simba exchanged a look with Zazu, who seemed just as confused. "I'm not sure I really got all of that, son, but I'll help you make a connection to whoever else you like, if that's what you're getting at."

"That's not a bad idea," Zazu mused. "If we could manage to connect with other fallen warriors, then we might be able to raise an army of spirits to fight alongside you. If it's really Scar we're up against, you'll need all the help you can get – meaning no offence, young master."

"None taken," said Kion. He still remembered how easily Scar had beaten him during sparring, and that had been _before_ he absorbed Ahadi's power. The gap between them would be even more immeasurable now. "It's a good plan, but there's no time. Scar is down there right now, and any second we wait could result in him driving my friend insane forever." He had already wasted far too much time, in fact, and gained far too little in return.

He turned to leave, pointless as that was. In order to return to his body, he only had to let go.

"We'll lend you our power," said Simba. "We can support you from here as spirits, just as Zira is doing with Scar." He hesitated, seeming to want to say something else but proving unable to find the words. Perhaps it was the same as what Ono had been trying to say to Kion, just before he went out to risk his life for him.

"Thank you." He half turned and inclined his head towards the body of Mufasa, whose giant form still lay lifeless in the dust. "Say, dad. After everything you said about pretending to be someone you're not for the sake of the kingdom and your son – do you ever think that maybe the same was true for _him?_ That maybe that's what he was trying to tell you, when he said that you had forgotten who he was?"

Simba stared at his father's body in shock. "But that's… That might be true for everyone else, maybe, but he was always the one who didn't _need_ to pretend…"

Zazu gave him an appraising gaze. "Sire, I don't know if it helps, but I rather suspect he would have said the same thing about King Ahadi. And not to sound too hung up on it or anything, but he did order you to practice your pouncing lessons on me whenever he was annoyed. A flawless ruler he was not."

As Kion let go of his connection to the spirit realm, the tree and the cliffs and the fog all slowly began to fade around him. The last to vanish was the image of his father, who was still staring blankly at Mufasa's form, which seemed to be becoming ever so slightly smaller as it shrank under his gaze.

* * *

Kion awoke to pain and sweltering heat, bright spots and smoke stinging his eyes as he coughed up a lungful of dust. It was strange how being a spirit for such a short time could cause him to forget all of that. As he stirred, sharp warning pangs confirmed that his limbs were still broken and his ribs were still cracked. He could feel it all the more clearly for having felt no pain at all before.

He reached out tentatively, forming a connection not to any other spirit but to _himself –_ to the spirit he remembered being just a moment earlier, and which was really no different from any other that he needed to save. He took a deep breath, and tied the connection together, braiding his spirit like a rope until his own limbs were just another part of the world around him – no different from the grass or the trees and the water. Then he _pulled_ on the connection _,_ and he felt his limbs answering to his will, moving without any need to put weight or strain on his bones. Several more tries later, and he was on his feet.

 ** _"_** ** _It is always so rewarding, so see a child take his first few tentative steps."_**

Kion raised his head and glared at his enemy. "You're the one who broke my limbs in the first place, you unbelievable jackass."

 ** _"_** ** _And you sent your assassin to try and murder me from behind. I'd say we're about even."_** The golden lion had his back turned to Kion, and it took a moment for the smoke to clear enough to make out what was happening. A wall had been raised from the earth in front of Scar, and Janja's body was dangling from the top, suspended by his own paws which had been nailed in place there. He stared at the sight in horror.

"Kion." A dim shape that Kion had thought to be just a pile of ash stirred besides him, and he realized that it was Jasiri who was speaking. "I, I tried to stop him. I thought that I had stopped caring about her, about _him_ , but it seems I was just lying to myself again. I'm sorry, Kion."

"It's not your fault," he sighed, and this time he meant it. "If you can walk, take the others and get out of here. And see if you can wake up Fuli – one of you will have to carry Ono, I think."

Scar was watching them bemusedly. **_"And why, exactly, should I let you do that?"_**

"Because you never really cared about them in the first place," said Kion. "And because you'll be too busy fighting me to stop them."

Scar gave a dismissive snort. The blast of wind that blasted from his nostrils pushed Kion to his knees, and he choked back a scream as his broken bones buckled under the pressure. Suddenly a wall rose up from the ground in front of him to block the wind, and when he looked up he saw that Jasiri was by his side, a fearful look on her face as she examined him. The expression did not suit her at all, he thought.

"Kion, are you all right?"

"Go," he ground out, biting through the pain in his limbs and chest. "I will deal with Scar."

 ** _"_** ** _How trivial you make it sound."_** The wall crumbled and fell apart into pieces, each individual stone floating up into the air to circle lazily around Scar's head. One by one the stones began to hurl themselves at Jasiri, and she shrieked as she tried to dodge each of them in turn while grabbing Ono of the ground at the same time. Kion sucked in a painful breath as he prepared to roar in Jasiri's defence, but before he could do anything the stones fell lifelessly back onto the ground. Scar had gone perfectly still, his eyes unblinking as he stared straight past Kion.

 ** _"_** ** _What have you done?"_**

Kion followed his gaze to his father's body, and for a moment he did not understand what his granduncle was referring to, but then he reached out with his spirit and realized that there was nothing there at all. No more soft groans were coming from Simba's body; no more did his chest move up and down as he breathed. Only an empty shell remained behind.

 ** _"_** ** _What. Have. You. Done?"_**

"I didn't," said Kion. "I wasn't – I was just talking to his spirit, a second ago. His injuries…"

 ** _"_** ** _His injuries should not have killed him for several more hours at a minimum! No, you did something to him: You absorbed his power as I did with Ahadi, and you killed him in the process!"_**

"That's not true," Kion said, though he remembered all too well how Simba had planned to sacrifice himself to give him and his friends the chance to run away _._ Could it be that his father had only pretended to change his mind? "I was just talking to him in the spirit world, or whatever you call that place where spirits talk to each other, and Zazu was there as well." He lifted his head, hoping against hope that Scar would see things his way. "He's alive, granduncle. You were right all along, and I was wrong: Spirits aren't just something we create using the Roar. All those spirits, everyone who died is still _there_ , waiting for us to make a connection to them. We could save them all, granduncle! Not just the handful of people who learned to use the Roar, but possibly every animal who ever lived."

And it made sense, too: If the Roar's power ultimately came down to making connections with yourself and the world around you, if it really could be reduced to that one fact that _we are one_ , then spirits would on some level have to be a fundamental part of the universe. And if that was the case, then there was no reason why they would just disappear upon death. All they needed to exist again was some kind of connection to tie themselves to the world around them, to replace the bodies that they had lost.

 ** _"_** ** _Impossible…"_** For just one second, Scar seemed to hesitate, tempted by the lure of hope – but then his jaw set and his eyes blazed once more. **_"What are you basing all of this on? Some frenetic fever dream you had? If Simba's spirit is truly still around, where is he now? Can you show him to me?"_**

Kion vainly searched for the connection, but he already knew that it would be hopeless. "I needed the red fruit to do it in the first place," he said. "Now that his body has faded, it'll be harder…"

 ** _"_** ** _The red fruit works by lowering one's inhibitions,"_** Scar said. **_"It has no magical properties of its own. All it does is make you stronger by increasing your suggestibility and causing hallucinations."_**

"It wasn't a hallucination," Kion protested. He motioned desperately for Jasiri and the others to leave, for they were all still watching silently from the crumbling entryway. "Granduncle, even if I can't prove it to you right now, you have to admit that if there's even a small chance it's true, it has to be worth a try! There's no reason to give up on hope."

Everything seemed to fall silent, and Kion could swear that even the pools of lava bubbled a little more softly, though whether it was because of Scar's power or his own imagination he did not know. Then the old lion burst out laughing; a mad cackling which echoed throughout the great stone chamber and spoke of endless despair. **_"Hope! You defend the hyenas who murdered my son right in front of me, rob me of my only chance to save his spirit, and now you talk to me of hope?"_** He turned towards Janja's dangling body, and reached out with a claw. **_"I will show you what I think of hope."_**

"He's not your son," Kion spat, as he drew on a power he had not felt before. "He was never your son. You murdered his real father right in front of him when he was just a kid, you demented lunatic!"

The aura around Scar lit up, but this time Kion did not try to dodge: Instead he searched for his connection to Scar, to the fading old lion who he had alternately called his granduncle, his mentor and his enemy, and _pulled_ on it right as the beam of light struck and scorched the earth all around him.

 _"_ _Kion!"_

The light was painfully bright, but it did not blind him: The golden lion behind that radiance had no more love for Scar than it did for Kion. He remembered it, welcomed it, and faced it with both eyes open – catching once more a glimpse of that old and pitiful king who had fallen so far down into the earth.

"Go," he said to the figures behind him. He did not look back to see if his friends heeded him.

Scar _roared,_ and the earth around him shattered. All across the chamber the stone ground burst apart and blew into the air as lava spewed upwards. The heat was so blistering that Kion thought his fur would catch fire on the spot, but instead he reached out and wrapped the flames and the fumes around him like a cloak. Then he gathered it together and hurled it back at his enemy like a bolt of pure defiance.

His granduncle disappeared in the resulting explosion, but Kion did not wait to see the result: He reached out to the stone splinters that nailed Janja's paws to the nearby wall and pulled them out one by one. Not a second before he was done he found himself being hurled backwards again, and he had to use the roar to catch himself before his body could be hurled into the pools of molten lava behind him.

 ** _"_** ** _You're still trying to save them? If you truly wanted to stop me from passing judgement, you should have simply killed them on the spot. You are still naïve..."_**

Scar walked out of the smoke and ash. Flecks of fire and golden light still clung to his fur, but the look in his eyes had changed. There was no more hesitation there, no more fear for Simba's life to hold him back. The last of his compassion had been snuffed out along with the person who had inspired it in him in the first place. From his brow Ushari's screams still rang ethereally, while the dim lights of hyenas ran laps around his skull, alternately cackling and shrieking as they were chased by a burning ember.

"Not just Janja," said Kion. "Shenzi too. And Jasiri, and the rest of my friends. And my father, and Zazu, and Bunga, and my sister, and my mother, and their families as well. Everyone who lived and everyone who ever died; all who were ever loved, and even those who were feared and hated by all…"

Scar _roared_ at him, and the lava began to bubble up as if to rage at the heavens alongside him. Demonic talons of pure magma reached up from the pools and lashed out at Kion, but he pulled on his own connection once more and willed himself to go _up._ He felt his paws lift from the ground as he rose, just as Ushari had done in his own fight against Scar, just as Kion had known on some level should have been possible all along, for the magic he drew upon was just as much part of him as it was the earth.

He opened his eyes and stared down at the raging demon that had risen up front of him.

"Zira," he whispered, searching not for her connection but _Scar's,_ since the two of them were one. "If you and Scar are truly bound together, then you must know him better than I do. Your husband is not fighting me; he is fighting himself. If you really want him to win, there is only one thing you can do."

The burning claws hesitated, pausing in mid-swipe as the burning visage that had formed in the flames glanced back at Scar uncertainly.

Scar snarled and swiped with his paw, bursting the molten demon and scattering her into countless fiery droplets that would have burned straight through Kion's body if he had not pushed himself away in time. Scar roared again, and this time the whole building shuddered as the ceiling cracked and the very tip of the pyramid burst open. Kion stared at the sky in horror, for the stars were flickering out one by one as an all-consuming cloud of volcanic ash eclipsed the sky.

Drawing on all his power granted to him by his friends and family, Kion summoned forth a hurricane gale to blow the ash away. There was a distant sound of something rumbling, and Kion only barely managed to throw himself out of the way before a bolt of lightning speared down from behind the cloud of obscuring ash. There was a deafening clap as the blast roughly tossed him aside, and the world blackened before his eyes as he landed, red spots flaring in his vision as his broken bones buckled and nearly pierced through his flesh. Yet even that searing pain threatened to retreat to a dark corner of his mind as he lay there, and it was becoming harder to remember why he needed to feel anything at all.

 _"_ _Son? Son, you cannot rest yet. You need to keep fighting."_

"Father," Kion whispered dazedly. He only barely remembered to project his thoughts rather than speak them aloud. _I thought you were gone. Scar said– for a second, I really believed…_ He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

 _"_ _I fear Scar is beyond reason. You cannot reach him any longer. You must not hold back, my son."_

Kion shook his head, trying to clear his vision. All around him the world was black with ash and soot, and it was all he could do not to cough and give away his location. _I can't beat him, father. He's too strong..._

 _"_ _There is no need for you to defeat him, young master."_ This time, he thought he could make out Zazu's thoughts inside his head. _"King Scar has always been his own worst enemy. You need but offer him the chance and he will defeat himself."_

 _Easier said than done,_ thought Kion, though he was not sure if anyone could still hear. He forced himself up through his connection and half-limped through the sea of ash to where he thought he could sense Scar, on the other side of the crumbling ziggurat which was all that still remained of the ruined chamber.

 ** _"_** ** _Given up on hiding?"_** Scar was holding Janja's wriggling body above a pool of brightly glowing lava, seeming to take the time to torment him, or possibly just making sure their connection was in place in order to grant his foe immortality. **_"Stay there and you'll have a prime spot from which to watch."_**

"Kion…" It was Janja's voice that rasped, though Kion was not sure how he could tell that it was really him and not Shenzi. "Don't, don't let him do this. Don't let him hurt my mum. _Please…"_

Kion dipped his head slightly, though he had no idea how he could keep true on the promise. His eyes drifted towards the brazier at the top of the ziggurat, which still billowed out a plume of red smoke.

"Hey Scar," he said. "You fancy yourself a rational animal, don't you? How about we put that to the test?" He reached out with his power and pulled the brazier from its plinth, causing it to tumble down the steps and spill its fuming contents on the ground between them. "You said the red fruit brings out your true self, right? Then if you breathe it in, you should revert back to who you really are. If I'm right, you won't be able to deny that you're being influenced by Ahadi. If not, then no harm done."

 ** _"_** ** _An old trick. The royal mjuzi once tried the same thing on me – challenge me to a battle of wits, and then when my wits start fading you change the rules halfway through. I shall not fall for it again."_**

"It's not a trick," Kion said. "Just an honest experiment. You do believe that I'm honest, don't you, uncle? After all, that's the entire reason I'm fighting you in the first place – unless you're choosing to lie to yourself about that as well?" He made a show of shrugging lightly. "Well, I guess if I'm right and you're just deluding yourself, it makes sense you'd also convince yourself not to listen to me…"

Scar glowered at him. **_"Think yourself clever, do you? I don't suppose your father ever explained to you what happens to clever little lions?"_** He eyed the crimson smoke warily, as if it were more dangerous than anything that had been thrown at him so far. **_"Fine. In that case, if I'm proven right and nothing changes, you'll agree to do nothing and watch as I grant Shenzi the afterlife she rightly deserves."_**

Kion hesitated. "That, that's not…"

Scar bared his teeth in a humourless smile. **_"What's the matter, lad? Not so sure of yourself once there's something of value at stake? So much for the iron certainty of youth!"_** He seemed to hesitate one more moment, and then he stepped into the crimson smog and breathed deeply, allowing the noxious fumes to wash over him. **_"There. I have done my part of the test. Are you convinced yet?"_**

"The test is not done," Kion protested, feeling any semblance of control slipping away from him. "We still have to to find out if your mindset has changed any. You might just not have noticed."

 ** _"_** ** _Good point."_** He reached out with his paw and snapped one of Janja's hind legs in two. There was a horrifying shriek as the hyena watched his own bloody bone pierce through his skin, and his screams of pain were even more horrible than his laughter had been. **_"Now let's see how honest you really are."_**

Kion felt something _pull_ him forwards, and then Scar's claws closed around his neck and shoved him face first into the crimson powder. He tried not to breathe, but a creak in his bones caused him to gasp and inhale some of the smoke, and then there was no stopping it. The pain in his chest flared up like never before as the toxin seared his lungs, and he screamed in agony as he fell into a choking fit that forced more and more of the red powder down his throat.

 ** _"_** ** _Well? Do you still believe that the hyenas and I are good, deep down? That we are all the same as you?_** Scar let go off Kion and grabbed Janja instead, dangling him by his shattered hind leg to the sound of animalistic screams. **"** ** _What about you, Shenzi? Are you still in there?"_** He gave Janja a shake for emphasis. **_"You did not stop watching just to spite me, did you? That would be rather petty of you."_**

Kion moved his head away from the red powder and gasped painfully. "I… I was wrong," he breathed. Through blurred and swimming vision he could see his father's body not too far from him, unmarred by the fire and lava all around it. "Goodness doesn't come from within, but from without…"

 ** _"_** ** _What are you babbling about?"_**

"I'll show you." Kion focussed on the smouldering dust, blowing it towards them with a gust of wind and forcing the crimson fumes down Scar's throat. As his enemy choked and reeled in surprise, he reached out for Simba's connection as well as Scar's and hammered them together with sheer brute force. "I'll make you see the goodness inside your heart, even if I have to put it there myself!"

Scar _roared,_ and for a second Kion's vision blurred as Scar's will crashed against his. **_"Insolent boy! Time and again I relent for the sake of your father, and each time you betray me..."_**

Kion gritted his teeth, pushing back against the unstoppable avalanche that was Scar's will. But Kion was a rational being, and no thinking creature would ever surrender to a mere force of nature. Where Scar pushed he gave way even as he redoubled his efforts elsewhere, tearing at his opponent's defences with a thousand whittling blows. Slowly, through sheer bloody-minded determination, he could feel the connection taking hold, and a whisper spoke from within both their heads.

 _"_ _Uncle? Uncle Scar, is that really you?"_

There was a _scream_ from Scar and the sound of something breaking _,_ and then the world collapsed around them. The walls of the chamber shattered and the lava faded into nothingness, until only the stars above them remained. They were standing in a field of grass, grey and blue in the colours of night, the endless savannah stretching out before them just like it had in Kion's vision of Ahadi.

 ** _"_** ** _Lies,"_** the old lion choked out. ** _"Lies and trickery. Again you attack me where it hurts the most…"_**

Kion stared back in Scar's green eyes, which contained as much doubt as they did hatred. "Why are you so afraid of winning, granduncle? Do you think you don't deserve it? Do you really hate yourself that much?"

Scar roared in reply, his screams of fury no longer resembling that of any animal. Lightning flashed down, and Kion hurriedly raised up a pillar of earth in response, catching it with a mighty crash and a shower of burnt rocks. As Kion countered each of Scar's attacks in turn, he dimly realized that they were no longer in the savannah: They were duelling on the peak of Pride Rock as all around them the Pridelands burned. Scar's aura flared up, the golden light rendering him almost unrecognizable.

"You are not Ahadi, granduncle," Kion shouted. "You're not your father, and neither am I." He had not been there to see the duel between Scar and his father at the top of Pride Rock, but looking at Scar now it was hard to miss the similarity. "Simba told me in our vision how for the sake of his kingdom he'd been pretending to be someone he was not. Do you really think Ahadi was any different, granduncle? Do you really think _you're_ any different?"

The ground cracked and shattered beneath their paws, and then Kion was falling, tumbling through the cool air even as Scar swiped at him blindly. He fell into ice-cold water, and for a moment he thought he was drowning, but then he remembered to simply will it all away. The two of them had fallen down into the lair of the Lion Guard, standing in the now-empty pool from which he used to drink whenever they returned from patrol. All around them, the paintings of the past seemed to be moving: Countless shapes of lions and hyenas biting and clawing at each other, locked together in eternal combat.

"Ahadi was never a god of evil until you made him into one. And hyenas were never destined to be evil until he decided it was so." He gestured around at the moving images all around him, which seemed to spell such a gloomy fate. "A history of lies and self-deception, all for no more than a pleasing story…"

Scar charged at him, and the scenery changed once again. Inadvertently, Kion's thoughts had wandered back to his battle against Ushari's minions, and now he was standing at the top of Flatridge Rock as Scar ran up the hill towards him. As he turned, Kion saw that the herd animals were there as well: All the zebras and antelopes, giraffes and wildebeests that had fallen in that final fateful charge. It was not so hard to see now, that the fragile connection he had pulled on back then had always been there.

"I have no right to ask this of you," he said, looking at each of them in turn. "But you helped me fight Ushari before, and now I need your help again. Will you run with me, one more time?"

One of the giraffes nodded slowly. "Princess Kiara told us to fight. We fight."

"We trampled the king once," the lead of the wildebeests muttered. "We run for Prince Kion, now."

Kion smiled gratefully, and then he turned and charged down the hill. Scar was rapidly making his way towards them, too blind with grief and rage to stop. The stampede crashed into the old lion before Kion could get there, and the old lion howled in pain as he was trampled beneath a thousand cloven hooves. The herd threw up a cloud of orange dust, and soon the entire valley was covered in it, until it choked the lungs and obscured all vision like a poison mist. Their surroundings had changed once again.

"Do you see now, granduncle?" He tried to make out Scar's form amongst the stampeding herd, but the orange dust obscured all sight. "This is how you killed your brother, right in front of my father's eyes. You're the one that convinced the hyenas to do that, just as you're the one that trained Shenzi and Ushari to use the Roar in the first place. Everything you hate about the world, you created yourself!"

Scar roared _,_ and all the wildebeests were flung backwards as claws of pure nothingness raked them, tearing them to pieces. Kion recoiled, not knowing what effect this would have on their spirits, and right as he remembered to banish them another blast of force hurled him backwards. As the ground yawned up beneath him he scrambled with his claws for purchase, and he suddenly found himself dangling from the edge of a cliff, a primordial terror overtaking him as he desperately searched for a foothold.

Above him, a pair of green eyes set in an old and withered frame stared down at him.

"Don't," he whispered. "There's no point in punishing people who are just like you. We are the same, granduncle. Sisi ni sawa."

 ** _"_** ** _Do you think I don't know that? Everything you accuse me of, I've cursed myself for a hundred times over. You've told me nothing knew."_**

"I know," Kion said, closing his eyes. "But you still needed someone other than yourself to tell you that."

Scar's paws closed over his, digging into his fur with ethereal claws. Kion did not wince.

 ** _"_** ** _Why?"_**

"Because if you can accept that you are guilty of the same crimes as Shenzi, then maybe you can also admit that you have the same qualities. She loved her son so much that she was willing to die for him, even though she couldn't admit it to herself until the very end, and the same is true of you." He opened his eyes and stared back at Scar without flinching. "We are the same, granduncle: All of us. We're capable of the same evil, and the same grace. And if you can imagine yourself acting in the exact same way as the people you fight, then it's irrational to hate others – and just as irrational to hate yourself. You understand, don't you granduncle? Mufasa had it right from the very beginning. We are one."

Slowly, the hardness in Scar's eyes gave way, as his claws retreated from Kion's paws. In that instant, as Scar's oppressive force of will weakened and waned, a familiar shape appeared behind the old lion.

 _"_ _Uncle…"_

Kion felt the claws retract in shock, and as he fell into the abyss he could feel the world of the living calling him back once more. The last he saw was Scar facing two other lions, none of them quite knowing what to say, but seeming to be glad that they were there.


	24. Epilogue

**A/N:** This is it. The final chapter I'll write for this story, and for this setting. When I first wrote that one-shot about Scar, I had no idea I would expand it so much, let alone write a sequel. Thank you all for sticking with me for so long, especially those who waited in between chapters (Sorry!). I hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll consider reading my other stories as well. :)

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There was a gentle pitter-patter of feline paws on the stones behind Kion. After a moment, a soft voice spoke up. "What happens now?"

Kion kept staring at the body of his father, which still lay unmoving upon the floor of the ruined pyramid. Flecks of ash were falling gently from the sky, slowly covering their fur in a coat of black snow. It was tempting to think that any moment now the king would wake up, but after Zazu and Bunga he no longer had it in him to fool himself like that.

"We'll return to Pride Rock," he said. "We'll tell queen Nala and Kiara, and they'll send the lionesses to take him back. There'll be a period of mourning, and then a coronation. And then, somehow, we'll find a way to move on."

"No," said Fuli. The cheetah inclined her head to the dark-haired lion who lay just a few steps further away. "I mean, what do we do about... him?"

Kion followed her gaze and stared at the softly breathing form of his granduncle. It was strange to think that mere moments ago Scar had been a living, vengeful god. Now, he just looked like the mysterious old lion who had taught him how to use and control the Roar, and who he had argued so bitterly with after Zazu's death. No, more than that, he just looked... old.

"We'll save him too, of course." And Shenzi, and Janja, and Zazu, and Bunga. Everyone who lived and everyone who ever died; all who were ever loved, and even those who were feared and hated by all…

Jasiri frowned. She had walked up next to Kion without him even noticing. "After everything he did? Kion, I know he's your uncle and everything, but he still tried to wipe out my entire species. Can we really just let that pass?"

Kion could not help but let out a small laugh. "A hyena lecturing me about consequences. I guess the world really has turned upside down, huh?" He forced a smile, though it must have been a sad sight to see, for none of the others were joining in. "Jasiri, you had it right the first time. We are the same. If we punish him now, we'd just be hurting ourselves."

Fuli looked none too impressed, though that could just be due to the thin trail of smoke that rose from her scorched fur and which followed her wherever she went, causing her to smell like burning wet leaves. "Kion, are you really all right? It's perfectly normal to hate someone after they, well, betrayed you like he did. You shouldn't feel like you have to forgive him just because it's the right thing to do."

"That's right," said Ono. He was perched on Fuli's back, Kion realized, one wing folded in a way that indicated it was probably broken. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head on a rock or something? Uh, I mean, not to sound too callous or anything, but you don't _look_ like you should be feeling all right."

"I'm an enlightened being," said Kion. "I'll feel however I damn well please." He willed his right front paw to rise up in front of his face, taking care not to jumble his broken bones, though he was pretty sure that he could simply choose not to feel even that pain at this point. There was no golden glow coming from his fur, but Ahadi must have gone _somewhere_ after Scar lost him. Perhaps his spirit had finally moved to the place where his father and Mufasa also were, having no more ties of hatred to bind him to this world. "When you have power, you get to make your own rules. That's the whole point of winning."

His father was not dead. Not truly. As long as he kept thinking that, he could manage. He would re-establish his connection with him, and with Bunga, and then he would do the same for everybody else. Nobody would ever have to die, ever again.

Ono exchanged a worried look with Fuli. "Uhm, we're not going to have to fight him too, are we?"

Jasiri rolled her eyes. "Nobody's fighting anybody. If Kion says we have to forgive Scar, then that's just what we'll do. He's our captain, remember?" She walked over to Janja, who had drooped down from the wall Scar had pinned him to and who now lay there on a slab of rock in between the congealed pools of cooled-down magma. "I really should just leave him there, after everything he did."

"No you shouldn't," said Kion. "If you really meant that, you wouldn't have felt the need to say it." He turned his gaze back to his granduncle, to his own familial burden and responsibility which was so much like hers. "Though we might not have much of a choice. Scar is way too heavy for us to carry, and I'm not sure how long I can keep focussing my power to walk with all my paws broken like this. Actually, you uhm... might have to carry me for a while, Jasiri. If that's okay."

Jasiri gave him a bemused smirk, which was a reassuring sight to see. It reminded him of the carefree way she had laughed at him, the very first time they met. "I'm used to it by now, Pridelander. But how about you just use those special god powers of yours to get your mother and her huntresses to come over here?"

"That's... huh. That's a good idea, Jasiri." Somehow, for a second there, he had almost forgotten. As he reached out in search of that warm and familiar feeling, he realized that his mother was already on her way. Nala, and Kiara, and all the lionesses, hurrying through the deserted wasteland towards the scene of devastation like a small but intensely blazing sun. Further out, along the very border to the Outlands, Beshti and the other animals were all waiting for them.

 _I'm not alone._ He tried a small smile again, and he thought it came out a little less pained this time.

"Wait," said Ono, looking up from his perch on Fuli's back. "You said you broke your paws? As in, _all_ of them? How in the Pridelands did you manage that? Even I only broke a single wing."

"Good point," said Fuli, raising an eyebrow. "Who were you calling foolhardy again, Kion? Maybe we should be switching titles at this point. I got to say, Fuli the Fierce has a pretty nice ring to it."

"All right," said Jasiri, smirking at her, "but only if I get to be Jasiri the Strong. Or wait, no, Jasiri the Just? Jasiri the... hmmm. You know, my name is really hard to alliterate with."

"Maybe Jasiri the Jester?" Ono joked. "You'll really get to be the next Bunga if you keep this up."

Kion smiled again. Above them, the cloud of black ash slowly parted, letting in a thin ray of sun. As the circle of light steadily expanded around them, he could feel his friends and family drawing closer.

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 **A/N:** Thanks for reading everyone! Leave a review, and be sure to check out The Need To Become Stronger if you haven't already. I will resume updating it shortly.


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